Guidance is the set of rules and logic Dext AI Assist uses to generate suggestions. Shared guidance is only available to accountants and bookkeepers with a Dext Practice account. It lets Admins create guidance rules centrally in Practice settings and apply them to all or selected clients. Clients can use Shared guidance, but can't edit it — only the practice can manage it.
Note: Access to Dext AI Assist in Practice settings is limited to Practice Admins and Client Admins with the Manage the practice's business permission.
Important: Dext AI Assist takes priority over other automation features, including supplier rules, smart categories, and basic extraction.
Updates to Shared guidance apply automatically to all linked clients, but apply to new items only — existing Inbox items won't be updated.
Create and assign Shared guidance
To create a new Shared guidance item and assign it to clients:
Go to Practice settings.
Select AI Assist, then select Shared guidance.
Select Create guidance.
Review the guidance writing tips at the top of the modal.
Enter a Name and Description explaining the logic for the guidance.
Choose the Application mode — Manual review or Auto-apply.
Select Next and toggle on the clients you want to apply it to.
Select Create guidance to confirm.
Edit Shared guidance
To edit an existing Shared guidance item:
Go to Practice settings > AI Assist > Shared guidance.
Find the item you want to update.
Select Actions > Edit.
Update the Name, Description, Application mode, or the clients it applies to.
Select Save to apply changes.
Note: Changes apply to new items only. Existing Inbox items won't be updated.
Manage Shared guidance
From the Shared guidance list in Practice settings, you can:
Change the Application mode for a guidance item using the drop-down next to it.
Deactivate a guidance item for all clients at once by toggling off the Active toggle.
Delete a guidance item by selecting Actions > Delete. This removes it from all client accounts it was enabled for.
How Shared guidance appears in client accounts
Once a practice enables Shared guidance for a client, it appears in that client's account under Business settings > AI Assist > Account guidance. Clients can use the guidance, but can't edit it.
If a client wants a change made to Shared guidance, they should contact their practice directly. The practice can either disable the guidance for that client or create a new guidance item tailored to that client's needs.