One of the most reported AI assistant issues is: "I uploaded my SOP document, told it to work from the file, and it generated a completely unrelated procedure." This article explains every cause and the fix for each.
What happened, in plain terms
MaintIQ has two new-SOP buttons that look similar:
- Start with AI — opens a chat with no source document. The AI only knows your prompt.
- Start from a document — uploads your file as context. The AI reads it before responding.
If you used Start with AI and pasted "use my uploaded SOP", the AI has nothing to upload. It then invents a plausible-sounding maintenance SOP — often a generic compressor or HVAC procedure because those are common in its training data.
Fix 1: Use the right button
Delete the bad draft. Go to SOPs → + New SOP → Start from a document. Upload your file. Wait for the extracted text preview to appear. Then write your prompt.
See Uploading a .docx or .pdf as the source for the full step-by-step.
Fix 2: Confirm the document actually parsed
Even with the right button, if your PDF is a scanned image with poor OCR, the AI receives garbled or empty text. Symptom: the preview is empty, or shows only random characters.
Fix: open the source file, copy the text manually, and paste it into the chat as the first message. Or re-scan the PDF at 300 DPI minimum.
Fix 3: Reference the document in your prompt
The AI is more reliable when you remind it the document is the source of truth. Write prompts like:
"Convert the attached water-sampling SOP into a MaintIQ procedure. Use the steps and IDs in the attached document — do not invent new ones."
Avoid:
"Make a water-sampling SOP."
The second prompt invites the AI to write from general knowledge, which is when hallucinations happen.
Fix 4: Check the document is fully uploaded
A 20 MB file on a slow connection might appear to upload but only deliver the first few KB. Look for the green ✔ checkmark next to the filename. A red ✗ or no icon means the upload did not finish.
Fix 5: Use one document per SOP
If you attached 3 unrelated files and asked for "one SOP", the AI picks one (often whichever was largest) and ignores the others. Generate one SOP per source file for predictable results.
How to tell if the AI used your document
After the draft is generated, look at the Source citations panel on the right. It lists which uploaded file each section came from. If the panel is empty, the AI did not use any uploaded source — restart from Step 1.
When to give up and write it manually
If you have tried the above twice and still get the wrong content, the document is probably not machine-readable. Paste the source text directly into the SOP editor and skip the AI step. The editor's Markdown shortcuts make manual SOP creation fast.
Reporting it
If you believe the AI is misbehaving even with a clean upload and a focused prompt, send us:
- The source file.
- Your prompt.
- A screenshot of the AI response.
Send to support and we will diagnose.