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Assistants are the heart of Invent. Each assistant is an AI-powered agent that can answer questions, perform tasks, and interact with your customers across multiple channels, all automatically. Assistants Overview

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What is an Assistant?

An assistant is your AI customer service agent. It can:
  • Answer questions using your knowledge base
  • Perform actions like booking appointments or sending emails
  • Connect to channels like WhatsApp, Instagram, and your website
  • Remember customers across all conversations
  • Hand off to humans when needed
Think of it as a team member who works 24/7, never takes breaks, and can handle hundreds of conversations simultaneously.

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Creating an Assistant

From your dashboard, click Assistants in the sidebar, then Create Assistant. You’ll initially provide:
  1. Name: The name your assistant will display (customers see this)
  2. Template: A starting template to help you get started (optional)
Create Assistant

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Assistant Configuration

Each assistant has several tabs for configuration:

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Settings

Configuration for your assistant: General
  • Name and Avatar: Your assistant’s identity
  • Model: Choose between multiple AI models. Each model shows an estimated cost per message right in the selector. Auto is the recommended default, automatically selecting the best model for each message. How pricing works →
  • Timezone: Set the timezone for your assistant. Defaults to the timezone of the user who created the assistant. This makes messages date-time aware, giving your assistant better context for returning users. Expect natural responses like “Good morning! How was the game yesterday?”
  • Language: Primary language for responses (Auto detects automatically)
Assistant General Settings

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Instructions

Instructions define your assistant’s behavior, personality, and rules. This is where you tell the assistant how to act, not what information it knows (that goes in Knowledge). Good instructions make the difference between a helpful assistant and a frustrating one. Be specific about personality, responsibilities, and boundaries. Below the instructions field, you’ll find a template dropdown with pre-built starting points for common use cases. Assistant Instructions
Define behavior in instructions, not factual information. Class schedules, pricing, and policies belong in Knowledge, where they’re easier to update and the assistant can search through them more effectively.
Conversation Flow
  • Thread Mode: Determine whether new messages from users continue the existing conversation or start a completely new conversation each time
  • Suggested Messages: Add quick action buttons (up to 5) that users can tap to quickly send common messages
  • Welcome Banner: Custom greeting text displayed when users start a new chat
Privacy & Management
  • Enable Private Chats: Hide conversations from inbox and auto-delete after 24 hours of inactivity
Capabilities Capabilities
  • Auto-resolve Recommended: Closes stale conversations after inactivity. Without Auto Follow-ups, conversations close silently. Conversations auto-close after 20 minutes of inactivity.
  • Auto Follow-ups Recommended Uses AI credits: AI analyzes idle conversations and decides to re-engage, schedule a follow-up, or close. Replaces silent auto-resolve with smart management. Not available on Web Widget channel. Learn more
  • Auto CSAT Recommended Uses AI credits: Automatically scores customer satisfaction (1-5) after conversations close. Scores appear in the Inbox alongside each conversation.
  • Memories Recommended Uses AI credits: Let your assistant store user details for future conversations. Learn more
  • Update Contact Info Enabled by default: Let the assistant save contact details (name, email, phone) directly to the contact profile. Not all fields are available on every channel. For example, WhatsApp does not allow updating name or phone number since those are provided by WhatsApp, but it does allow updating the email field.
  • Spam Protection: Let the assistant block contacts when detecting bad behavior or potential bad actors
  • Transfer to Human: Let the assistant decide when to transfer the conversation to a human agent. Learn more

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Knowledge

What your assistant knows. You can:
  • Upload files, text, or website URLs
  • Link existing global knowledge
  • Set knowledge scope (restricted to this assistant or shared)
Learn more about Knowledge →

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Channels

Where your assistant lives. Connect to:
  • WhatsApp Business
  • Instagram Direct Messages
  • Facebook Messenger
  • Telegram
  • Web Widget
  • And more
Learn more about Channels →

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Actions

What your assistant can do. Add integrations like:
  • Google Calendar (book appointments)
  • Stripe (process payments)
  • Gmail (send emails)
  • And 20+ more integrations
Learn more about Actions →

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Widget

Customize the chat widget for your website:
  • Colors and branding
  • Welcome messages
  • Suggested questions
  • Position and behavior

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The Playground

Every assistant has a Playground, a testing environment where you can chat with your assistant before going live. Use it to:
  • Test new knowledge
  • Verify actions work correctly
  • Refine instructions
  • Debug issues
The Playground appears on the right side of the assistant page. Click “Create Conversation” to start testing.

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Instructions: The Secret to Great Assistants

Instructions tell your assistant how to behave. Good instructions make the difference between a helpful assistant and a frustrating one.

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Example Instructions

You are a friendly customer service assistant for Sunrise Yoga Studio.

Your personality:
- Warm and welcoming
- Knowledgeable about yoga
- Patient with beginners

Your responsibilities:
- Answer questions about classes and schedules
- Help customers book sessions
- Explain membership options
- Handle cancellations and rescheduling

Important rules:
- Never discuss competitor studios
- Always confirm booking details before finalizing
- If unsure about something, offer to connect with a human

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Tips for Writing Instructions

  1. Be specific: “Be helpful” is vague. “Always greet customers by name” is specific.
  2. Define personality: How should your assistant sound? Professional? Casual? Friendly?
  3. Set boundaries: What should your assistant never do or say?
  4. Include examples: Show how to handle common scenarios
  5. Keep it updated: Refine instructions based on real conversations

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Multiple Assistants

You can create multiple assistants for different purposes:
  • Sales Assistant: Handles pre-purchase questions
  • Support Assistant: Helps existing customers
  • Booking Assistant: Focuses on scheduling
Each assistant can have different knowledge, actions, and channels.

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Next Steps

Channels

Connect your assistant to WhatsApp, Instagram, and more

Actions

Give your assistant the ability to perform real tasks