Using and Sharing Assistants

For Students:

• Research Assistant: Instructions for helping with literature reviews + a PDF of your course syllabus + web crawler for recent journal articles

• Study Guide Assistant: Instructions for breaking down concepts + documents with lecture notes + conversation starters for each module

• Lab Report Assistant: Instructions for scientific writing + a template document + web crawler for relevant datasets

For Faculty:

• Course Design Assistant: Instructions for course planning + Boise State policy documents + conversation starters for each component

• Grading Assistant: Instructions for feedback + rubric document + examples of model answers

• Grant Writing Assistant: Instructions for grant proposals + past successful grants + web crawler for funding opportunities

For Departments:

• HR Onboarding Assistant: Department policies + employee handbook + new-hire checklist

• Compliance Assistant: Institutional policies + relevant regulations + web crawler for regulatory updates

• Communication Assistant: Department tone guide + approved templates + brand guidelines

For Teams:

• Project Management Assistant: Project charter + timeline document + team contact information

• Code Review Assistant: Coding standards guide + architecture diagrams + best practices documentation

1. Log in to http://boisestate.ai

2. Click/tap the Assistants icon (looks like stars) in the left-hand menu

3. Click/tap Manage Assistants

4. You'll see your assistants listed, with a tab to view Public Assistants if available

Key difference: While System Instructions are text-only behavioral guidelines, Assistants include supporting materials. This allows assistants to reference documents, websites, and other resources alongside instructions.

Pro Tip: Review or complete the structured exercise outlined Lesson for AI Assistants.

Quick decision framework:

• No supporting materials needed? → Use System Instructions

• Need to reference documents or websites? → Use an Assistant

• Both? → Create a System Instruction and use it as the basis for an Assistant

Step-by-step process:

1. Log in to http://boisestate.ai using your Boise State credentials

2. Click/tap the Assistants icon (looks like stars) in the left-hand navigation menu

3. If this is your first assistant, click/tap Create Your First Assistant. Otherwise, use the +Create link in the upper right corner

4. Enter a title that clearly describes your assistant (e.g., "Lab Report Grading Assistant" or "Grant Writing Coach")

5. Enter a description that explains:

   • What this assistant does

   • Who should use it

   • What it's designed to help with

   • Example: "Helps faculty provide consistent feedback on biology lab reports using the course rubric and best practices for scientific writing."

6. (Optional) Add a category to organize assistants (e.g., "Teaching," "Research," "Administration")

   • Helpful if you create multiple assistants

7. (Optional) Add an avatar to make your assistant visually distinctive

   • Makes it easier to recognize in the assistants list

   • Can reinforce the assistant's purpose (e.g., a research icon for a research assistant)

8. Enter the instructions the AI assistant should follow

   • This works the same way as system instructions (be specific, include tone/style, format preferences)

   • See the "Best Practices for Creating Effective Instructions" section from the System Instructions article for guidance

   • Example: "Provide constructive feedback that is encouraging but specific. Format all feedback as: [Issue], [Why it matters], [How to improve], [Examples]."

9. (Optional) Add conversation starters that users can choose from

   • These are pre-written prompts to help users get started

   • Examples:

     • "Review this lab report for scientific writing standards"

     • "Check the methods section for completeness"

     • "Suggest improvements for the conclusion"

   • Users can click these to quickly begin a conversation without typing

10. (Optional) Add documents for the assistant to reference

    • Upload PDFs, Word docs, spreadsheets, rubrics, templates, guidelines, etc.

    • The assistant can analyze and reference these documents when responding

    • Document size limits: Check the interface for current limits (typically 10-25 MB per document)

    • Maximum documents: Check the interface for limits (typically 10-20 documents per assistant)

    • Best practice: Include only the most relevant documents. Too many can confuse the assistant.

11. (Optional) Add web content using the web crawler

    • Enter a URL you want the assistant to reference (e.g., "https://www.nsfgov/grants")

    • Set crawler parameters (how deep to crawl, what content to prioritize)

    • The assistant can then reference current information from that website

    • Best for: Guidelines, policies, funding opportunities, recent research that update frequently

12. Set the recommended model based on your assistant's complexity

    • Claude Sonnet 4: Good general-purpose model for most assistants

    • Other models may be available for specific use cases

    • When users activate your assistant, this model will be recommended (they can still choose another)

13. Review your assistant before publishing:

    • Does it have clear instructions?

    • Are supporting documents included if needed?

    • Are conversation starters helpful?

    • Does the avatar match the purpose?

14. Click/tap Complete Assistant to save as private, or Make Public to share immediately

    • You can always change this later

15. Confirm the new assistant appears in your My Assistants panel

Accessing your assistants later:

1. From the left-hand menu, click/tap the Assistants icon (looks like stars)

2. Your assistants will appear in the Manage Assistants panel

3. Select any assistant to use it in a conversation

Instructions:

• ✅ Be specific about tone, format, and approach (see System Instructions best practices)

• ✅ Align instructions with your supporting documents

• ✅ Test instructions before adding documents (start simple)

Supporting Documents:

• ✅ Include only relevant documents. A 20-page policy guide might confuse the assistant; excerpt the key sections instead

• ✅ Keep documents up-to-date. Edit your assistant when documents change

• ✅ Clearly title documents (e.g., "Rubric_Lab_Reports_2025.pdf" not "rubric.pdf")

• ✅ Include examples. Model answers or sample outputs help the assistant understand your expectations

• ✅ Organize documents logically (guidelines first, then examples, then templates)

Conversation Starters:

• ✅ Be specific and actionable (avoid vague openers like "Help me")

• ✅ Provide 3-5 conversation starters, not 10+

• ✅ Make starters match your target audience's needs

• ✅ Test starters to make sure they actually work well

Web Content:

• ✅ Use web crawlers for content that changes frequently (funding opportunities, policy updates)

• ✅ Test the crawler to ensure it's finding the right content

• ✅ Avoid crawling sites with paywalls or restricted access

• ✅ Set reasonable depth limits to avoid crawling too much irrelevant content

DON'T:

• ❌ Include sensitive data (SSNs, passwords, confidential records) in documents

• ❌ Overload with documents (more isn't better; prioritize quality over quantity)

• ❌ Create duplicate assistants that do the same thing (consolidate instead)

• ❌ Forget to test the assistant before sharing widely

Step-by-step process:

1. Log in to http://boisestate.ai using your Boise State credentials

2. Click/tap the Assistants icon (looks like stars) in the left-hand menu

3. Click/tap Manage Assistants to see available assistants

4. Select the assistant you want to use

   • Your personal assistants appear under My Assistants

   • Shared or public assistants appear in their respective sections

   • Click the assistant to select it

5. (Optional) Review conversation starters if the assistant includes them

   • These are pre-written prompts the creator included

   • Click a starter to use it, or write your own prompt

6. Enter your prompt in the prompt panel (the text box at the bottom)

   • Be specific about what you need

   • The assistant will reference its instructions, documents, and web content when responding

7. Click/tap the Enter icon (upwards arrow) to submit your prompt

8. The assistant will respond, drawing on:

   • Its custom instructions

   • Any attached documents

   • Web content (if configured)

   • General AI knowledge

Using Conversation Starters: If the assistant includes conversation starters:

1. Select one from the list

2. It will auto-populate in your prompt area

3. You can modify it before sending, or send as-is

4. Example: Click "Review this lab report" → it becomes your prompt

Editing an Assistant: If you created an assistant and want to modify it:

1. Go to Manage Assistants

2. Find your assistant

3. Click the three stacked dots (⋮) on the assistant card

4. Select Edit

5. Make your changes (update instructions, add documents, etc.)

6. Click Update to apply changes

7. Users will see the updated version the next time they access the assistant

Switching Assistants Mid-Conversation: If you need to switch to a different assistant:

1. Click the Assistants icon again

2. Select a different assistant

3. The next response will use the new assistant

4. However: For clarity, it's often better to start a new conversation when switching assistants

Step-by-step process:

1. Log in to http://boisestate.ai using your Boise State credentials

2. Click/tap the Assistants icon (looks like stars) in the left-hand menu

3. Click/tap Manage Assistants

4. Find the assistant you want to share and click the three stacked dots (⋮) on the assistant card

5. Select Share from the dropdown menu

6. In the Share Assistant dialog, choose who to share with:

   Option A: Share with specific people

   • Enter the Boise State email addresses of people you want to share with

   • Separate multiple addresses with commas

   • Click Share Assistant

   Option B: Make public within Boise State

   • Select Make Public (or similar option)

   • This makes the assistant visible to all Boise State users

   • Click Share Assistant

7. (Optional) Set an expiration date for the share

   • Useful if the assistant is temporary (e.g., for a specific semester or project)

   • After the expiration date, the share link stops working

   • Leave blank if you want the share to remain active indefinitely

8. Copy the Sharable Link that appears

   • Use this link to share access with others

   • In Canvas: Paste the link in a course announcement, syllabus, or module

   • Via email: Send the link to specific recipients with a brief explanation of what the assistant does

   • In Slack/other platforms: Post the link for quick access

9. Share recipients will:

   • Click the link to access your assistant

   • Have the option to save it to their own assistants list

   • See the assistant in their My Assistants panel once saved

10. Once shared, your assistant will appear:

    • In your My Assistants panel (marked as shared by you)

    • In recipients' My Assistants panels (if they saved it)