Examples

Small briefs. Useful everyday help.

A good assistant starts with a particular person and a job worth doing. Here are four ways to shape one, from the device on the kitchen table to the question that keeps coming up at work.

01 / Product assistant

The right help for the phone in their hand.

Your dad wants to read a message, not learn his way around every menu. Start with the iPhone Helper sample and give it the model, software version and the things he finds awkward. A little context saves a lot of explaining.

What you give it

Save his phone model, the apps he uses and his preferred pace. Ask for one step at a time, using the names he sees on screen. Product information can help with the device; you supply the details about Dad.

Where you come in

Set a boundary around purchases, passwords and account recovery. If a screen does not match or he wants your help, the assistant can offer to pass the conversation to you.

Dad's phone helper

The writing in my messages is too small.

Phone helper

Let's take it one step at a time. Open Settings, then look for Display & Brightness. Tell me when you're there.

Found it. Much easier when I know what I'm looking for.

Illustrative conversation

A familiar device, explained at a familiar pace.

02 / Product assistant

Give "the internet's gone" somewhere to go.

A router manual knows the hardware. You know which box is in the hallway and whether the spare room has a mesh unit. The Home Wi-Fi / Router Helper sample brings those two kinds of knowledge together.

What you give it

Add the router model, provider, layout and any mesh equipment. Keep household details separate from product specifications: a manual cannot know where you put the router. Leave passwords out of the brief.

Where you come in

Keep factory resets and changes to network settings out of routine advice. When the usual checks do not help, the person chatting can ask you to step in with the troubleshooting context already there.

Home Wi-Fi helper

The TV won't connect, but my phone is online.

Wi-Fi helper

Let's check the phone is using Wi-Fi rather than mobile data. If it is, we can look at the TV connection next.

Yes, it's on the home Wi-Fi. Let's try the TV.

Illustrative conversation

Start with the setup you have, then narrow the problem down.

03 / Freeform assistant

For the questions that never made it into a handbook.

Where is the latest proposal template? Who approves a supplier? A new colleague should not have to work out who to interrupt. A General Helper assistant gives those everyday questions a home.

What you give it

Write down the useful links, the usual steps and the exceptions people miss. Give it your team's language and keep the scope small enough to maintain. No product model needed: the starting point is what you know.

Where you come in

An assistant can explain the approval process; it cannot approve an exception for you. Tell it which decisions need a person, and use recurring questions to spot gaps in the brief.

Team help

Can I skip supplier approval for a small order?

Team help

The process Alex gave me still asks for approval. I can explain the steps, or ask Alex about an exception. Which would help?

Please ask Alex.

Illustrative conversation

Make the routine easy and leave decisions with the right person.

04 / Freeform assistant

A nudge in the right direction beats a page of answers.

Sometimes a learner needs another example, a smaller step or time to think. Start with the Subject Tutor type and describe the subject, their starting point and how you want it to teach. You can build one for yourself, too.

What you give it

Give it the topics to practise and the approach that helps: examples before definitions, hints before solutions, one question at a time. Ask it to check understanding before moving on.

Where you come in

If the explanation is not landing, the learner can ask for the person who shared the tutor. That conversation gives you something specific to work on together, and a reason to adjust the teaching brief.

Maths practice

I don't understand why 1/2 is the same as 2/4.

Maths tutor

Picture a sandwich cut into two equal pieces. You take one piece, then cut that piece in half. Have you got more sandwich, or the same amount in smaller pieces?

The same amount. Just two pieces now.

Illustrative conversation

Build around the learner, then make room for them to think.

Start with the question you regularly find yourself answering.

Choose a device, a product or a topic. Add the details of common answers you have to give, or information relevant to who you're going to share it with. Then go ahead, share it!

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