Assistants Overview

Assistants are separate AI configurations you can use for different purposes, channels, or scenarios. Create multiple assistants to handle different kinds of conversations, use different communication styles, or serve different customer segments.

What are Assistants?

Assistants are independent AI configurations with their own:

• System prompts and behavior
• Greeting messages
• Voice selection
• Model and provider settings
• Email signatures
• Channel-specific defaults

Each assistant operates independently, so you can tailor behavior per use case.

When to Use Multiple Assistants

Create multiple assistants when you need:

1. Different Personalities: Sales assistant vs. support assistant vs. technical assistant
2. Different Channels: Voice-focused assistant vs. text-focused assistant
3. Different Scenarios: B2B assistant vs. B2C assistant
4. Different Languages: English assistant vs. Spanish assistant
5. A/B Testing: Test different configurations to see what works best

Default Assistant

Every account has one default assistant that handles conversations when no routing rules match. The default assistant is marked with a star (⭐) in the assistants list.

Setting the Default Assistant

• Only one assistant can be the default at a time
• Setting a new default automatically removes the default status from the previous one
• The default assistant is used as a fallback when routing rules don't match

Channel-Specific Defaults

You can set different default assistants for different channels:

• Default Email Assistant: Used for email conversations
• Default SMS Assistant: Used for SMS conversations
• Default Chat & DMs Assistant: Used for web chat conversations and DM/Messenger (Meta Messenger, Instagram DMs)
• Default Voice Assistant: Used for voice calls

This allows you to have:

• A formal, professional assistant for email
• A friendly, casual assistant for chat and DMs
• A clear, articulate assistant for voice

How Assistants are Selected

During a conversation, the system selects an assistant in this order:

1. Routing Rules: If a routing rule matches, use the specified assistant
2. Channel Default: If a channel-specific default is set, use that assistant
3. Global Default: Use the default assistant
4. Fallback: If no default is set, use the first available assistant

Assistant Configuration

Each assistant can be configured with:

• Name: Descriptive name for the assistant
• Description: What this assistant is used for
• System Prompt: Core instructions defining behavior
• Greeting: First message when starting conversations
• Voice: Voice used for phone calls
• Model: AI model (GPT-4o, GPT-4o Mini, GPT-4 Turbo, GPT-3.5 Turbo, Gemini)
• Provider: Model provider (OpenAI, Google)
• Email Signature: Signature appended to email responses
• AI Playbook: (Optional) Assign a versioned playbook for consistent behavior

AI Playbooks

AI Playbooks are versioned configurations that define AI behavior. Instead of configuring each assistant individually, you can:

• Create reusable playbooks
• Apply the same playbook to multiple assistants
• Track changes with version history
• Roll back to previous versions if needed

Playbooks make it easier to maintain consistency and improve your AI over time.

Tool Use and Context Functions

Assistants can use built-in tools while still keeping safety and privacy controls in place:

Available Tools

Product Search:

• Search products by name, category, price, or availability
• Get product details and recommendations
• Resolve product references from conversation context

Document Search:

• Search company documents and knowledge base
• Retrieve relevant information for customer questions
• Access training context and instructions

Website Content:

• Access crawled website content
• Retrieve page information and summaries
• Answer questions about your website

Calendar Integration:

• Check calendar availability
• Book appointments
• Manage scheduling

Client Information:

• Access client records (with privacy protection)
• Retrieve conversation history
• Get contact information (via secure variables)

PII Variable System

Assistants can reference customer contact information using secure variables:

Available Variables:

• - Customer's phone number
• - Customer's email address

Usage Example:

When scheduling appointments, call {{PHONE_NUMBER}} to confirm.
Send the confirmation email to {{EMAIL_ADDRESS}}.

How It Works:

1. Assistant generates response with variables
2. System automatically replaces variables with actual customer information
3. Response is sent to customer
4. PII is never exposed to AI models (privacy protected)

Safety Features

Tool Use Limits:

• Maximum function calls per response (prevents abuse)
• Rate limiting on tool usage
• Automatic fallback if tools fail

Privacy Protection:

• PII is automatically redacted from tool inputs
• Customer data is never exposed to AI models
• All tool usage is logged for audit

Context Isolation:

• Each tenant's data is completely isolated
• Tools only access data for the current tenant
• No cross-tenant data leakage

Best Practices

1. Start Simple: Begin with one default assistant, add more as needed
2. Clear Names: Use descriptive names (e.g., "Sales Assistant", "Support Assistant")
3. Test Thoroughly: Test each assistant before making it default
4. Monitor Performance: Track which assistants perform best
5. Keep Updated: Update system prompts based on conversation data

Creating Your First Assistant

You have two options for creating assistants:

Option 1: Create with AI Assistance (Recommended for Beginners)

The AI-assisted onboarding helps you create a properly configured assistant through a conversational interface:

1. Go to the Assistants page
2. Click "Create with AI" (purple button with sparkles icon)
3. Have a conversation with the AI about what you need:
   • Describe what the assistant should do (sales, support, scheduling, etc.)
   • Specify the tone and personality you want
   • Indicate which channels you'll use (voice, email, chat, SMS)
   • Mention any special capabilities needed
4. Review the generated configuration
5. Edit any settings if needed
6. Save and test

Benefits:

• Guided setup process
• Automatically generates well-formatted system prompts
• Suggests optimal settings based on your needs
• Great for users new to AI assistant configuration

Option 2: Manual Creation

For advanced users who prefer full control:

1. Go to the Assistants page
2. Click "New Assistant" (blue button)
3. Choose a template or start from scratch
4. Enter a name and description
5. Configure system prompt, greeting, and other settings
6. Set as default if this should be your primary assistant
7. Save and test

Managing Assistants

• Edit: Update assistant configuration at any time
• Delete: Remove assistants that are no longer needed
• Set Default: Mark an assistant as the default
• View Rules: See routing rules associated with an assistant

Next Steps

• Learn about Routing Rules - How assistants are selected
• Learn about Configuration - Detailed settings guide
• Review AI Configuration - General AI settings