AI Assistant Configuration
Create and manage your organization's AI assistants — their instructions, knowledge, tools, model, and who can use them. As an admin, you decide what each assistant knows, what it can do, and which people can reach it.
:::info Admin access required Only admins can create, edit, or approve assistants and manage access. Team members see the assistants they're allowed to use, but can't change them. :::
Open the AI Assistants page
In the sidebar, open WorkSpace → AI Assistants. The page header reads AI Assistants with the subtitle "Configure assistant permissions and knowledge base access"
As an admin you'll see three tabs:
| Tab | What it's for |
|---|---|
| Assistants | The assistant list — search, view, edit, and turn each one on or off |
| Pending Approvals | Review newly built assistants and set their access before they go live |
| Access Requests | Approve or reject requests from users who want access to a restricted assistant |
The Pending Approvals and Access Requests tabs show a small badge when items are waiting for you.
The Assistants list
The Assistants tab lists every assistant in your organization. Use the controls at the top to find what you need:
- Search assistants… — filter by name or description.
- Status filter — All Status, Active, or Inactive.
Each row shows the assistant's avatar and name, its Model, its Conversations total, and a Status toggle:
| Column | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Assistant | Avatar, name, and short description |
| Model | The model the assistant runs on |
| Conversations | How many conversations it has handled |
| Status | An Active / Inactive switch — flip it to turn the assistant on or off |
Click any row to open a detail panel showing the assistant's description, notes, base model, conversation total, and system prompt. From there, admins can select Edit Assistant to change its settings.
Turning an assistant Inactive hides it from users without deleting it. Use this to pause an assistant while you refine it.
Create an assistant
Select Create Assistant (top right). A form opens with six tabs. You can move between tabs freely; required fields are checked when you save, and a red dot marks the Basics or System Prompt tab if a required field there is still missing.
1. Basics
| Field | Required | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes | The assistant's name, shown to users |
| Description | No | A short summary of what the assistant does |
| Notes | No | Extra text shown to users to introduce the assistant. This does not affect how the assistant behaves — it only guides people |
| Starter Questions | No | Up to 4 short questions shown as suggestion chips on the assistant's welcome screen |
| Suggest follow-up questions | No | When on, three clickable follow-up questions appear under each answer |
| Character / Emoji | No | Pick an animated character as the avatar; if you don't choose one, an emoji is used instead |
2. Model Config
- Model — choose which model powers the assistant. Search the list or filter it by provider. Your platform model is always available; external providers appear here only if you've enabled them on the Models & Providers page.
- Model parameters — fine-tune behavior such as temperature (creativity) and response length. Any parameter you leave unchecked uses its default.
:::caution External models send data outside your organization If you pick an external provider's model, the assistant shows an External Model warning: conversations are processed on that provider's servers. For sensitive work, prefer your platform model. See Models & Providers for how providers and data handling are set up. :::
3. System Prompt
The system prompt is the assistant's core instructions — who it is, how it should behave, and what it should and shouldn't do. This field is required. Write it in clear, plain language, as if briefing a new team member.
4. Knowledge Base
Decide what documents and websites the assistant can draw on.
- Enable Knowledge Base — let the assistant search and reference your organization's documents. When it's off, the assistant answers from its instructions and model knowledge only.
- Document Access Scope — once Knowledge Base is on, choose which document levels the assistant may search:
| Scope | What it covers |
|---|---|
| User's Personal Documents | Documents the person chatting has uploaded |
| User's Team Documents | Documents from that person's teams |
| User's Department Documents | Documents in that person's department |
| Organization Documents | Company-wide documents everyone can see |
| Confidential Documents | Restricted documents that only admins can view |
- Assistant-Specific Documents — optionally build a document collection just for this assistant. When enabled, you choose whether it enforces each user's permissions (people only see what they're allowed to) or bypasses them so everyone using the assistant can see those documents. Use bypass with care.
- Answer from Websites — off by default: a crawled website isn't used in chat until an assistant is turned on for it here. Enable this to let the assistant also answer from your organization's crawled websites. Website pages follow the same rules as documents — the scope levels you picked above apply to them too. See Website Sources to add and manage the websites your organization crawls.
- Enable Web Search — let the assistant look up current information from the web.
:::info How document access combines An assistant only ever answers from what it — and the person using it — can see. Selected scopes are combined, users still only reach documents their own permissions allow, and confidential documents are searched only for admins. To learn how document levels work, see Knowledge Base access levels. :::
5. Tools
Tools are the actions an assistant can take — for example searching, working with documents, or creating tasks. They're grouped by category, such as Search, Documents, Organization, Tasks, Service Desk, Blueprints, HR & People, and Utility.
- If you select no tools, all tools are active by default.
- Select specific tools to restrict the assistant to just those.
- Use Select All or Clear to set everything at once.
Some tools carry labels so you know what you're granting:
| Label | Meaning |
|---|---|
| WRITE | The action changes data (not just reads it) |
| Admin Only | Only admins can use this action |
| Admin / Exec | Available to admins and executives |
| Manager+ | Available to department managers and above |
Even when a tool is enabled on the assistant, a person can only use it if their own role allows it.
6. Advanced
- Enable Thinking Mode — show the assistant's reasoning steps before it gives its final answer.
When you're done, select Create Assistant to save. (When editing an existing assistant, the button reads Save Changes.)
Pending Approvals
A newly built assistant waits in Pending Approvals before it goes live. Expand an entry to review it and set two things:
- Knowledge Base Access — tick which document levels it may search: Personal Documents, Team Documents, Department Documents, Organization Documents, and Confidential.
- Access Level — who can reach the assistant:
| Access Level | Who gets it |
|---|---|
| Entire Organization | Everyone in your organization |
| Specific Departments | Only the departments you pick |
| Specific Users | Only chosen individuals |
When you choose Specific Departments, select the Allowed Departments from the list. Select Save Settings to keep your choices, then:
- Approve — the assistant goes live and becomes active.
- Reject — the assistant is archived. You can add an optional reason.
Access Requests
When a user asks for access to a restricted assistant, the request appears in Access Requests with the requester's name, email, the duration they asked for, and the request date.
- Approve — a dialog opens where you can set an Access Expiry Date. Leave it empty to use the duration the user requested.
- Reject — you can add an optional reason.
Tips
- Keep your default assistant active. Arketic AI is most people's starting point — leaving it on gives everyone a reliable place to begin.
- Scope knowledge deliberately. An assistant only answers from what it and the current user can see. Grant the narrowest document access that still gets the job done.
- Prefer the platform model for sensitive work. External models process conversations on the provider's servers.
- Use Notes and Starter Questions. They help users understand what each assistant is for and how to begin.
- Review approvals and access requests promptly so new assistants and waiting users aren't held up.
Related pages
- Models & Providers — enable providers and control how conversation data is handled
- Knowledge Base access levels — how document visibility works
- Website Sources — add and manage the websites your organization crawls
- User Management — manage the people who use your assistants
- Roles & Permissions — what each role can see and do