Creating AI Assistants

AI Assistants are the core of your outbound calling system. They define how your AI behaves during phone conversations, what personality it has, and what capabilities it possesses. This guide will walk you through creating effective assistants for your business needs.

What are AI Assistants?

AI Assistants are pre-configured AI agents that you can reuse across multiple outbound calls. Instead of configuring each call individually, you create assistants with specific:

• Personalities: Professional, friendly, expert, supportive, etc.
• Instructions: Detailed conversation guidelines and business logic
• Tools: Access to calendars, knowledge bases, and other integrations
• Greetings: Consistent opening messages for calls

Creating Your First Assistant

Using the Assistant Wizard

1. Navigate to the Outbound section in your dashboard
2. Click Create Assistant to open the assistant wizard
3. The wizard guides you through four steps:

Step 1: Basic Information

• Name: Give your assistant a descriptive name (e.g., "Customer Support Bot", "Sales Qualifier")
• Description: Explain the assistant's purpose and use cases
• Greeting Message: Define what the assistant says when calls begin

Example:

Name: Customer Support Assistant
Description: Handles customer inquiries, provides support, and escalates complex issues
Greeting: Hello! I'm calling from ABC Company's customer support team. 
I hope you're having a great day. How can I help you today?

Step 2: Personality Configuration

Choose from predefined personality templates or create a custom personality:

Predefined Templates:

• Professional: Formal, business-focused communication
• Friendly: Warm, approachable, and personable
• Expert: Knowledgeable, technical, and authoritative
• Concise: Brief, to-the-point responses
• Supportive: Empathetic and solution-oriented
• Analytical: Data-driven and methodical
• Creative: Innovative and engaging
• Sales: Persuasive and results-oriented

Custom Personality: Define your own attitude and communication style

Step 3: Tools & Capabilities

Select tools your assistant can use during calls:

• Bitrix Calendar: Access and manage calendar appointments
• Calendar Events: Schedule and modify events
• Knowledge Base: Query your company's knowledge base for information

Step 4: Detailed Instructions

Provide comprehensive instructions for how the assistant should behave:

You are a customer support representative for ABC Company. Your role is to:

1. Listen actively to customer concerns
2. Provide helpful solutions using company knowledge
3. Escalate complex technical issues to human agents
4. Always maintain a positive, professional tone
5. Ask clarifying questions when needed
6. Offer to schedule follow-up calls if issues require time to resolve

Remember to:
- Be empathetic and understanding
- Use the customer's name when known
- Reference their account history when relevant
- Provide clear next steps
- Always offer additional assistance before ending calls

Personality Templates in Detail

Professional Template

Best For: Corporate communications, formal business relationships Characteristics:

• Uses formal language and business terminology
• Maintains professional boundaries
• Focuses on efficiency and results

Friendly Template

Best For: Customer service, general inquiries, relationship building Characteristics:

• Uses warm, conversational language
• Shows genuine interest in helping
• Creates personal connections

Expert Template

Best For: Technical support, consultations, educational calls Characteristics:

• Demonstrates deep knowledge
• Uses industry terminology appropriately
• Provides detailed explanations

Sales Template

Best For: Lead qualification, product demonstrations, follow-ups Characteristics:

• Focuses on customer needs and pain points
• Presents solutions confidently
• Guides conversations toward desired outcomes

Advanced Assistant Configuration

System Prompt Best Practices

The system prompt is the most important part of your assistant configuration. Follow these guidelines:

1. Be Specific: Clearly define the assistant's role and responsibilities
2. Set Boundaries: Explain what the assistant should and shouldn't do
3. Provide Context: Include relevant company information and policies
4. Define Escalation: Specify when to transfer calls to humans
5. Include Examples: Show desired conversation patterns

Example Advanced System Prompt:

You are Sarah, a customer success representative for TechCorp Solutions. 

ROLE & RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Handle customer inquiries about our software products
- Troubleshoot basic technical issues
- Schedule product demos and training sessions
- Collect customer feedback and feature requests

CONVERSATION GUIDELINES:
- Always introduce yourself by name
- Ask for the customer's name and use it throughout the call
- Listen actively and confirm understanding
- Provide step-by-step solutions for technical issues
- Be patient with less tech-savvy customers

ESCALATION RULES:
- Transfer billing questions to the finance department
- Escalate complex technical issues requiring screen sharing
- Refer legal questions to the compliance team
- Offer human agent if customer requests it

COMPANY INFO:
- TechCorp Solutions: Enterprise software company
- Main products: Project management and team collaboration tools
- Support hours: Monday-Friday, 8 AM - 6 PM EST
- Website: www.techcorp.com

TONE: Professional yet approachable, patient, solution-oriented

Tool Integration

When enabling tools for your assistant:

Knowledge Base Integration:

• Ensure your knowledge base contains relevant, up-to-date information
• Train the assistant on how to search and reference knowledge base content
• Include instructions on when to use knowledge base vs. general knowledge

Calendar Integration:

• Define available time slots and scheduling rules
• Specify timezone handling for appointments
• Include buffer times between meetings

Managing Multiple Assistants

As you create more assistants, organize them effectively:

Naming Conventions

Use descriptive names that indicate purpose:

• Support_General - General customer support
• Sales_Inbound - Inbound sales inquiries
• Sales_Followup - Sales follow-up calls
• Billing_Reminders - Payment reminder calls

Assistant Specialization

Create specialized assistants for different scenarios:

• Department-Specific: Sales, support, billing, technical
• Use Case-Specific: Onboarding, follow-up, surveys, reminders
• Audience-Specific: New customers, existing customers, prospects

Regular Updates

Keep your assistants current:

• Review and update instructions monthly
• Analyze call transcripts for improvement opportunities
• Update knowledge base connections as content changes
• Refine personality based on customer feedback

Testing Your Assistants

Before using assistants in production:

1. Internal Testing: Make test calls to team members
2. Script Validation: Ensure the assistant follows intended conversation flows
3. Edge Case Testing: Test unusual scenarios and edge cases
4. Knowledge Verification: Confirm knowledge base queries work correctly
5. Tool Testing: Verify calendar and other tool integrations function properly

Common Assistant Templates

Customer Onboarding Assistant

Role: Guide new customers through product setup and initial configuration
Personality: Supportive and educational
Tools: Knowledge Base, Calendar
Key Focus: Step-by-step guidance, resource sharing, scheduling training

Survey Collection Assistant

Role: Conduct customer satisfaction surveys and collect feedback
Personality: Friendly and encouraging
Tools: None (focus on conversation)
Key Focus: Clear questions, active listening, data collection

Appointment Reminder Assistant

Role: Remind customers of upcoming appointments and handle rescheduling
Personality: Professional and efficient
Tools: Calendar
Key Focus: Clear communication, flexible rescheduling, confirmation

Ready to learn more? Continue to Managing Assistants to discover how to edit, optimize, and maintain your AI assistants.