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What is an Assistant?

The Core Agent is general-purpose and is the main way to work on AI Suite. An Assistant is an optional custom agent tuned for one recurring job. You give it a name, instructions, a model, and — if you like — tools and documents. Then you pick it in the Agents tab. If you’ve read Build an app, this will feel familiar. An Assistant is like an app that can also use tools and take action.
New here? Learn chat with the Core Agent and create files first. Come back to Assistants when you need a reusable specialist.

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Build it step by step

1

Start a new Assistant

Go to Agents (or the Platform area) and choose Create → Assistant.
The create-assistant screen

Starting a new Assistant.

2

Name it

Give it a clear name, like “Travel Planner” or “Support Helper”.
3

Write its instructions

Tell it who it is and how to behave, in plain words:
You are a friendly travel planner. Ask the user for their destination, dates, and budget. Then suggest a simple day-by-day plan. Keep it short and cheerful.
Good instructions = clear job + clear tone + any rules. Imagine training a new assistant on day one.
Form for the assistant name and instruction text

Writing the Assistant's name and instructions.

4

Choose a model

Pick the AI brain — see Choosing a model. Default is fine to start.
5

Add tools (optional)

Turn on any tools it should use (like a connected calendar or search). See Connect your tools.
6

Add knowledge (optional)

Upload documents so it answers from your own information — see Ask your own documents.
7

Test it

Use the built-in preview to chat with your Assistant. Try a real question and see how it responds.
A test chat with the new assistant

Testing the new Assistant in its preview chat.

8

Save and use it

Save it. Now open the Agents tab, pick your Assistant from the agent picker, and put it to work — or share it with your team.

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Making it better

  • If it forgets a rule, add that rule to the instructions.
  • If it needs to do something, give it the right tool.
  • If it needs facts, add documents to its knowledge.
  • Test the hard cases — the awkward questions it will really get.

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Do you need an Assistant?

Most people should stay with the Core Agent for everyday work (docs, sheets, PDFs, multi-step tasks). Build an Assistant only when you want a named specialist with fixed instructions you reuse often. Managed agents are an advanced option — skip them unless you specifically need more autonomous automation.

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Next step

Create docs, sheets & PDFs

Back to the primary Agent workflow most teams use daily.