What data the AI can and cannot see

Handl actually runs two different assistants — one for you and your team, and a much more limited one for your clients — and it's worth knowing the difference between what each can see and do.

The agency assistant (app, Slack, and MCP)

Sees and can act across your whole agency's data — clients, projects, invoices, time, and team.
Never sees or touches another agency's data, no matter how you reach it (in-app, Slack, or MCP).
Can take real actions — like sending an invoice or updating a project — subject to your autonomy settings and, for MCP, the read or read & write scope you've chosen for that connection.

The client portal assistant

Only sees that one client's own recent projects, invoices, and activity — never another client's information, and never your internal cost rates or margins.
Can only answer questions from that limited snapshot — it can't take any action, send anything, or change any data.
Runs as a separate, simpler assistant from the one you and your team use.

Good to know

Payment card details are handled directly by Stripe and are never passed to either assistant.
Both assistants share your agency's overall AI usage limits, so heavy use of one affects what's left for the other.
The agency assistant's data access is scoped to your agency automatically — there's nothing to configure to keep other agencies' data out.

FAQs

Can a client ask about another client's invoice through the portal chat? No — it's limited strictly to that client's own data.

Can the client portal assistant send an invoice or make a change? No — it can only answer questions, never take an action.

Does the agency assistant ever see data from other Handl agencies? No — every response and action is scoped to your own agency only.