> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.userlane.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.userlane.com/getting-started/orientation.md).
# Orientation
What Userlane does, how Visibility, Assistance, and Intelligence relate, and the platform layer beneath them.
Userlane is a software adoption platform that measures how an organization uses its business applications and changes what happens inside them. It operates in the browser, covering every web-delivered business application and browser-based AI tool.
Organizations use Userlane to find which applications are in use and where adoption falls short, to guide people inside the applications they work in, to detect unapproved tools and AI services, to track process and compliance targets, and to prove returns on technology investments with measured outcomes.
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[Visibility, Assistance, and Intelligence](/getting-started/orientation/visibility-assistance-and-intelligence.md)
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***
## Three parts and one platform
Userlane has three customer-facing parts, which work as a loop: Visibility measures, Assistance acts, and Intelligence proves. A platform sits beneath them.
{% columns %}
{% column %}
**Visibility**
Shows which browser-based applications and AI tools are in use across the organization, and whether they earn their license budget. It works from the browser extension alone, with no content to build first. Its capabilities are App Discovery and Portfolio Overview.
{% endcolumn %}
{% column %}
**Assistance**
Helps people inside each application, at the moment they struggle. It answers questions, walks people through processes, checks data entry, communicates changes, and triggers help when a condition is met.
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**Intelligence**
Shows how well each application works for the people using it, and proves what changed. Its capabilities cover scoring with the HEART Score[^1], goal tracking, measurement definitions, and user feedback.
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{% endcolumns %}
All three run on a shared platform: the deployment method, attributes, audiences[^2], sign-in, and integrations that connect Userlane to the organization. You configure the platform once, and every part uses it.
Visibility can start on its own, across the organization, with nothing to build. Assistance and Intelligence work as a pair inside each application, because Intelligence reads the content that Assistance builds there.
***
## Relevant articles
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[A tour of the Userlane portal](/getting-started/a-tour-of-the-userlane-portal.md)
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{% content-ref url="/pages/TBF4QYHDMWQghy26u8xI" %}
[HEART](/intelligence/heart.md)
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{% content-ref url="/pages/OUb4HG9RxVliztfFeCLm" %}
[What Assistance is](/assistance/what-assistance-is.md)
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[How Userlane is deployed](/deployment/rollout/how-userlane-is-deployed.md)
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***
## FAQ
How are Visibility, Assistance, and Intelligence related?
Visibility shows which applications are in use across the organization. Assistance changes what happens inside each application. Intelligence measures whether that change worked, and its results flow back into Portfolio Overview. Assistance and Intelligence work as a pair because several HEART dimensions need tasks or validators, and assistance without measurement has no way to prove results.
Does Userlane work with desktop applications?
No. Userlane works with browser-delivered web applications and browser-based AI tools. Desktop applications, native mobile applications, command-line tools, and server-side processes are not visible for measurement or assistance.
Is HEART configurable?
No. [HEART](/intelligence/heart.md) is standardized across five dimensions and is not customer-configurable. The standardization is what makes comparison between applications meaningful.
{% hint style="info" %}
**Looking for something else?**
Try [First steps in the portal](/getting-started/first-steps-in-the-portal.md), [How Userlane is deployed](/deployment/rollout/how-userlane-is-deployed.md), or [Glossary](/getting-started/glossary.md).
{% endhint %}
[^1]: The HEART Score is Userlane's five-dimension model for scoring how well an application works for the people using it, on a scale of 0 to 100.
[^2]: An audience is a reusable group of end users defined by attribute rules, used to control who sees which content.
---
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