Standing Questions
A standing question watches one specific answer for you - Apogee re-runs the exact question you asked, on a schedule and when the bills and members behind it change, and writes back only when the answer has materially changed.
Standing Questions
A standing question turns an answer you liked into one Apogee keeps current. After Apogee answers a question in chat, you can pin that answer, and from then on Apogee re-runs the exact question for you and tells you only when the answer has materially changed. It is the difference between asking once and asking once, then never having to ask again.
Standing questions vs. briefings
Standing questions and Briefings both watch the world for you, but they watch different things:
- A briefing monitors a topic on a schedule and always delivers a fresh report - a daily or weekly scan of everything moving in an area you chose.
- A standing question monitors one specific answer and stays quiet unless that answer changes. There is no scheduled report; you hear from Apogee only when the thing you pinned is no longer true.
Use a briefing when you want a recurring read on an area. Use a standing question when you have the answer you need right now and only want to know if it stops being right.
Watching an answer
Every answer Apogee gives in chat carries a Watch this answer option. Pin it and Apogee takes on the question as a standing job. You can also ask for it in plain language:
"Watch this"
"Keep this updated"
"Let me know when this changes"
Apogee pins the exact question you asked, in your words, so the follow-up checks measure change against the same question, not a paraphrase. Standing questions are created from inside a chat conversation, where there is an answer to pin.
How it stays current
Once an answer is pinned, Apogee re-runs the question two ways: on a cadence, and whenever a bill, member, or committee behind the answer changes. Each time, it compares the fresh answer against the last one you saw. When something material has moved, it emails you the update, framed against what you originally asked. When nothing has changed, it stays silent.
A quiet inbox is the feature working, not a dead product. Apogee does not promise a message every morning; it promises to speak up when the answer changes and to leave you alone when it has not.
Managing your standing questions
Standing questions are managed conversationally:
- List them: "What answers am I watching?"
- Stop watching one: "Stop watching that appropriations answer"
Removing a standing question stops the re-runs; it does not delete the original conversation.