Custom AI Assistants let you control the model, thinking level, instructions, language, and project context used in AI Chat. Inspect Scribeist’s underlying prompt alongside your own instructions and added context before using the assistant.

Available with Pro and AppSumo Tier 4.

Create an assistant

Open Workspace Settings → AI assistants.
Select Create assistant, or choose Browse templates to start with an editor, research reviewer, or writing coach.
In Configure, give the assistant a name and add its instructions.
Set its Language, Default searches, and Additional context.
Choose a Model and, where supported, a Thinking level.
Open Prompt preview to review the assembled prompt, included context, and word count.
Return to Configure if you need to adjust anything, then select Create assistant to save.

Use your assistant in AI Chat

Open AI Chat and click the model selector at the top of the chat panel (the button showing the current model).
Switch from Models to the Assistants tab.
Select your assistant, then check its model, searches, and context.
Send your request, or use a template’s conversation starter.

Voice Match and document edits remain separate controls. To return to regular AI Chat, select Default in the Assistants tab.

Configure your assistant

Model and thinking

Model: Choose from the models available to your account, or use Follow the current chat model instead.
Thinking level: Choose a supported level or Use model default. Select a specific model first; this control is disabled when adjustable thinking is unavailable.
Usage tradeoff: Higher thinking levels can help with difficult analysis, but may take longer and use more tokens.

Instructions and language

Use Instructions to define:

Focus: What the assistant should review or help you produce.
Response format: A critique, checklist, suggested edits, or another format.
Boundaries: When to rewrite, ask questions, or flag missing information.

For example:

Review pacing and character motivation. Support each finding with an example from the chapter, then finish with three actionable revisions. Ask before rewriting passages.

Set Language to follow the workspace or choose an override for this assistant.

Context and searches

Additional context: Add material the assistant should receive upfront, such as a chapter outline, publication brief, research source, or Mythos entry. Select up to 12 items per assistant in a workspace.
Default searches: Enable Workspace, Research, or Mythos searches so the assistant can find relevant material while working.

Available context choices depend on the workspace type. You can adjust context and searches in AI Chat before sending a message.

Inspect the prompt before using it

Open the editor’s Prompt preview tab to see:

Scribeist’s underlying instructions, including workspace framing and guidance for using project material.
Your instructions, combined with Scribeist’s prompt.
The language rule for the assistant’s responses.
The content of your selected context, so you can check what you are supplying.

Review the text for missing material, unnecessary context, or instructions you want to refine. Return to Configure to make changes, then check the preview again. Select Copy to copy the assembled text.

Word count and likely usage

The preview’s word count helps you assess input size and how your context choices may affect token usage. Including a whole chapter adds more input than including a short outline.

Word count is a guide, not an exact cost

The preview covers the assistant’s prompt and selected context. Actual token usage also depends on the model, chat message and history, retrieved material, response, and thinking. It does not calculate a token price or preview a future conversation’s entire request.

Example setups

Novel continuity review

Context: Character entries and a chapter outline.
Searches: Workspace and Mythos.
Instructions: Compare the scene with established story details and separate confirmed contradictions from unanswered questions.

Research and evidence review

Model: Your preferred analysis model, with a supported thinking level.
Context and searches: Key sources, with Research search enabled.
Instructions: Give evidence-backed findings and identify claims that need further research.

Publication-specific editing

Context: The publication brief and editorial guidelines.
Language: The publication’s required language.
Instructions: Review the draft for its intended audience and return a prioritized editing checklist.

Use Browse templates for more starting points, including developmental and line editors, citation reviewers, an SEO strategist, and publishing coaches.

Manage assistants

Edit: Select an assistant card, update its configuration, and save changes.
Duplicate: Use the three-dot menu to create a variation for another task.
Export: Download the configuration from the three-dot menu. Workspace context and chat history are not included.
Delete: Remove an assistant from the three-dot menu. Previous chats remain.

Use an assistant across workspaces

Assistants are available across your account. Searches use the workspace currently open, and additional context is saved separately for each workspace. Add the relevant project material when setting up an assistant in another workspace.

Frequently asked questions

How is this different than just saving prompts?

A Custom AI Assistant’s instructions are part of the system prompt, defining how the AI should act. They are sent with every message while selected, keeping its role and rules present as the conversation grows.

Alongside those system instructions, an assistant configures:

Model and thinking: Choose the model and its thinking level, where supported.
Context and searches: Include selected project material and choose which searches the assistant can use.
Instructions and language: Control the assistant’s approach, response format, and language together.
Prompt visibility: Inspect Scribeist’s underlying instructions alongside your own and the added context. The word count helps you judge input size and likely token usage before using the assistant.

For example, a continuity assistant can pair your review instructions with a chosen model, character entries, and Mythos search. Selecting it in AI Chat brings those settings into place, ready for your scene-specific request.