[jstirnaman]

What changed

Move the global Ask AI button from the header to the lower-right footer stack. Keep the production gradient, add an outline chat icon, and retain the 1rem label. Use a 128 × 48px minimum on desktop and 112 × 44px on mobile, with reduced mobile padding.

Place the existing timestamp control above the launcher. Hide the stack while chat is open, exclude it from keyboard access behind modal backdrops, and measure its height to provide scrollable page-end clearance. Hide the closed wayfinding modal so enlarged text cannot extend it into the viewport.

Update ADR 0008 and add Playwright coverage. Product-spec and plan files are excluded.

Why

The header button disappears as readers scroll. A compact fixed launcher keeps Ask AI discoverable while limiting the amount of article content it covers.

Impact

Readers can open the existing Kapa composer from any scroll position. Preserve the existing controller, source filters, contextual prefills, conversation history, drawer widths, and focus restoration. Timestamp eligibility, appearance, and date behavior remain unchanged. Temporary overlap with article content is intentional; final feedback actions can scroll clear of the stack. The launcher remains excluded from 404 and print views.

Verification

• Latest mobile adjustment: 18 Chromium Playwright launcher tests passed at 320, 390, 600, 601, 1280, 1440, and 1920px, including keyboard and touch activation, delayed loading, duplicate suppression, script/open failures and retry, focus restoration, history across resize, modal exclusion, API rendering, page-end clearance, themes, enlarged text, short landscape, print, and 404.
• Before the mobile-only sizing adjustment: the combined launcher and existing timestamp suite passed all 22 tests, including date selection and sample updates across time zones.
• Hugo testing-preview builds and API generation passed. TypeScript, ESLint, and diff checks passed. Commit hooks passed TypeScript, JavaScript lint, and Vale.
• The remark hook could not finish installing its dependencies because the package registry returned HTTP 503; the hook reported this without blocking the commit.
• Live Kapa verification completed an answer and retained the conversation after close and reopen.
• Pending: physical-device browser controls/safe areas, actual browser zoom, deployed-preview inspection, and timestamp Copy verification.
• Git HTTPS transport returned HTTP 503. Published the exact local tree and commit through GitHub's Git API; the remote commit SHA matches local HEAD.

To rerun locally: PLAYWRIGHT_CHROMIUM_EXECUTABLE_PATH=/usr/bin/chromium yarn test:e2e:playwright playwright/e2e/ask-ai-launcher.spec.js playwright/e2e/custom-timestamps.spec.js --workers=2.

Preview pages

• /influxdb3/cloud-serverless/get-started/write/
  Expected: timestamp control above the compact launcher; opening chat hides both; closing restores focus without a scroll jump. Final feedback can scroll above the stack.
• /influxdb3/core/api/write-data/
  Expected: one fixed launcher on an API operation page with readable content behind it.
• /influxdb3/core/admin/identify-version/
  Expected: contextual Ask AI links retain their prefills, source selection, and return focus.
• / and /404.html
  Expected: homepage launcher without a timestamp control; no launcher on 404.

The repository's PR Preview workflow skips drafts. Mark ready when the deployed preview is needed.

Checklist

• Signed the InfluxData CLA (if necessary); existing contributor status not independently verified.
• Rebased/mergeable: branch starts from the fetched origin/master.
• Local build passes (npx hugo --quiet): Hugo testing server builds passed; this standalone command was not rerun.

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Suggested reviewers (click to expand)

The docs team is assigned through CODEOWNERS. Keep this PR in draft until deployed-preview and physical-device verification are complete.

[Copilot]

🟡 Changes recommended

Unresolved modal-readiness and back-forward-cache bugs can cause modal overlap or leave Ask AI blocked, while nonportable screenshot paths, unsupported Firefox touch emulation, and outdated widget assertions cause test failures.

5 open issues

• Recheck modal state after widget readiness resolves · New
• Restore footer subscriptions after back-forward cache navigation · New
• Update resize tests for all-width timestamp hiding · New
• Use writable, repository-relative screenshot output paths · New
• Skip touch-emulation test in Firefox · New

What changed in this PR

Moves the global Ask AI entry point from the header to a fixed lower-right launcher, keeping it accessible while readers scroll and preserving the existing chat integration.

Changes:

• Adds a responsive, labeled launcher beneath the timestamp control, with safe-area spacing and page-end clearance.
• Hides the control stack during chat and excludes it from keyboard access behind modals.
• Adds Playwright coverage and records the revised design in ADR 0008.

File	Description
playwright/​e2e/​custom-timestamps.spec.js	Sets consistent preferences before timestamp tests.
playwright/​e2e/​ask-ai-launcher.spec.js	Adds launcher layout, interaction, accessibility, and recovery coverage.
layouts/​partials/​topnav.html	Removes the header launcher.
layouts/​partials/​footer/​widgets.html	Adds the labeled launcher and chat icon to the footer stack.
docs/​adr/​0008-shared-article-navigation-and-ask-ai.md	Records launcher placement, sizing, and interaction decisions.
assets/​styles/​layouts/​_v3-wayfinding.scss	Hides the closed wayfinding modal.
assets/​styles/​layouts/​_page-layout.scss	Removes header-specific styling and hides the stack during chat at all widths.
assets/​styles/​layouts/​_footer-widgets.scss	Defines responsive launcher styling, safe-area offsets, and scroll clearance.
assets/​js/​components/​ask-ai.ts	Measures stack clearance and manages modal-based keyboard exclusion.

_{Review effort: Balanced}