Assistant instructions persist across every turn; + Tools → Add context injects context for one turn. For an always-on prompt, build the Assistant.
What’s in an Assistant
| Element | What it does |
|---|---|
| Instructions | The system prompt. What the Assistant does, how it talks, what it expects. |
| Knowledge | Optional reference documents the Assistant can cite: your firm’s NDA template, your house style guide, the relevant statute. |
| Configuration | Output format, default Chat mode, default Research sources. |
When Assistants pay off
Assistants reward two things: recurrence and specialisation.| Good fit | Less good fit |
|---|---|
| Tasks you do at least once a week. | One-off questions. |
| Tasks with a consistent input shape. | Anything where the input changes drastically each time. |
| Tasks that benefit from your firm’s specific knowledge. | General-purpose research. |
| Tasks where the output should look the same every time. | Free-form analytical questions. |
Common Assistant patterns
Contract reviewers
Contract reviewers
Pre-configured to read against your standard. Output a structured findings list with risk levels.
Drafters
Drafters
Pre-loaded with your firm’s templates and style guide. Generate first drafts in your house format.
Researchers
Researchers
Pre-set jurisdictions, pre-set Research sources. Optimised for sourced answers in a specific area of law.
Intake processors
Intake processors
Take an intake form, extract the key fields, flag conflicts, propose an engagement letter outline.
Compliance checkers
Compliance checkers
Pre-loaded with the relevant regulation; check submitted documents against requirements.
Where Assistants live
Assistants are templates. They live in the global Templates library under the Assistants tab, alongside Workflows and Review/Discovery templates.| Source | What you’ll find |
|---|---|
| My templates | Assistants you’ve created. |
| Team | Assistants shared with you by colleagues or by your firm. |
| Libra | Pre-built Assistants from the Libra team for common tasks. |
Using an Assistant
Pick the Assistant
Either start a chat normally and click Tools → Assistants to switch the chat into Assistant mode, or open the Assistant’s card in the Templates library and click Run template.
The chat runs in Assistant mode
The Assistant’s instructions, knowledge, and configuration are applied. The chat header shows the active Assistant.
Sharing Assistants
Same model as the rest of the Templates library; see Starring & sharing. The standard pattern: build an Assistant, validate it on a few real prompts, share it with your team.Tips for designing good Assistants
One Assistant, one job
One Assistant, one job
A “do everything for M&A” Assistant struggles to give consistent output. Three Assistants, one for analysis, one for drafting, and one for summarising, work better. Chain them with a Workflow if you need them sequentially.
Front-load the instructions
Front-load the instructions
The first paragraph of an Assistant’s instructions sets the tone. Put the most important thing first: who the Assistant is, what it does, and what it never does.
Add knowledge documents you'd hand a junior
Add knowledge documents you'd hand a junior
The reference documents, the house style guide, the standard templates: anything you’d put in a junior associate’s onboarding pack belongs in an Assistant’s knowledge.
Specify the output format
Specify the output format
“Output as a numbered list with three sections: Risks / Recommendations / Open questions” gives consistent output. Without a format spec, you’ll get whatever the model felt like that day.
Tag and star the ones you use
Tag and star the ones you use
A library with 30 Assistants is unmanageable without tags. Tag at creation; star the ones you reach for weekly.
Next steps
Create a custom Assistant
Build an Assistant for a specific task.
About templates
Where Assistants live in the new library.