> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.artific.nl/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.artific.nl/en/for-everyone/assistants.md).

# AI assistants

What an assistant is, and how to work with one.

## What an assistant actually is

An AI assistant is a colleague-shaped way of getting at information and getting work done. You type a question in ordinary language; it answers.

The difference between this and a public chatbot is that the assistants here have been built by your organisation, for your organisation. They have been given your documents, told how you want them to write, and in many cases connected to your systems. So instead of general answers, you get answers about *your* leave policy, *your* products, *your* customers.

Each assistant has a narrow job. You will typically see several, each with its own purpose, rather than one that tries to do everything. The short description on each card tells you what it is for.

## What they can do

Depending on how each assistant was set up, it may be able to:

| Capability                 | What it means for you                                                     |
| -------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Answer from your documents | It looks things up in your organisation's material rather than guessing.  |
| Show its sources           | You can see which document an answer came from and check it.              |
| Work with files you attach | Summarise, extract from, or answer questions about a document you upload. |
| Use tools                  | Look something up in another system, or run a task for you.               |
| Hand over to a colleague   | Where the assistant cannot help, ask to speak to a person.                |
| Take spoken input          | Dictate instead of typing, and in some cases hold a spoken conversation.  |
| Remember your preferences  | Carry a few facts about how you like to work between conversations.       |

Not every assistant has all of these. What is available is decided when the assistant is built.

## What they cannot do

Being clear about this saves disappointment:

* **They are not always right.** They can state something wrong with complete confidence. Check anything that matters.
* **They only know what they were given.** If a document was never added, the assistant has not read it, and it may not realise that.
* **They cannot see your screen, your inbox or your files** unless you attach something.
* **They do not learn from your conversations.** Correcting one today does not change tomorrow.

## Finding your way

| Page                                                                      | What it covers                                       |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------- |
| [Chatting with an assistant](/en/for-everyone/assistants/chatting.md)     | Holding a conversation and reading answers properly. |
| [Files, images and voice](/en/for-everyone/assistants/files-and-voice.md) | Attaching documents and speaking instead of typing.  |
| [Making it yours](/en/for-everyone/assistants/personalising.md)           | Personal instructions and memory.                    |
| [Finding earlier chats](/en/for-everyone/assistants/recent-chats.md)      | Getting back to a conversation.                      |

## When an assistant is not enough

Two related features are worth knowing about:

* [**Projects**](/en/for-everyone/projects.md): when several conversations belong to the same piece of work and should share files and context.
* [**The AI Toolbox**](/en/for-everyone/toolbox.md): when you do the same task repeatedly and would rather fill in a form than write a question.

## If the assistant you need does not exist

Assistants are built by administrators. If there is something you need one for, tell yours. See [Getting help](/en/for-everyone/getting-help.md). Requests from the people who would actually use an assistant are usually what decides which ones get built.