How to Define Your AI Assistant’s Role

Defining your AI assistant’s role from the outset is crucial to achieve meaningful outcomes. Whether your goal is to boost sales, provide customer support, or run marketing campaigns, giving your assistant clear responsibilities helps avoid confusion and saves time. Below is a simple, step-by-step guide to properly shape and configure that role.

Pinpoint Your Business Needs

Start by asking: What is the primary purpose behind customer interactions? The answer naturally leads you to the main direction for your AI assistant:

  • Sales

  • Support

  • Marketing

Choose the Tone and Communication Style

Formal and concise

Suited for legal, banking, or any context requiring a more reserved tone.

Friendly and open

Ideal for an online store with fashion items or a beauty salon, where warmth and an approachable style foster trust.

Tip

Include two or three personality traits in the assistant’s setup, for instance: “Courteous, upbeat, not pushy” or “Professional, straightforward, and friendly.”

Adapt to the Brand

Make sure the AI assistant's tone matches your brand's overall identity. Consistency is key!

Role Definition

Define Specific Responsibilities

Avoid ambiguity by detailing the assistant’s exact tasks.

Clarify the Final Objective

After setting responsibilities, ask: What do I want the assistant to achieve by the end of a conversation?

Confirm appointments?

The assistant must ensure that appointments are confirmed and correctly recorded.

Finalize orders?

The goal is to guide the customer through the purchase process and complete the order.

Collect leads in a database?

The assistant must collect relevant contact information and add it to a database.

Achieve the Objective

Regardless of the specific objective, the assistant must know when and how to successfully end the conversation.

Your assistant’s role isn’t fixed forever.

Document and Refine Continuously

New questions or requests

Identify and add answers to new types of frequently asked questions.

Upselling/Marketing

Make sure the assistant provides clear and complete information, avoiding ambiguity.

Clarifications

Monitor interactions and document special cases or exceptions.

Optimization

Regularly review and improve the assistant's conversations and responses.

Connect to Other Systems

Stock and Price Access

Connect the assistant to data on stock, price, and product attributes to facilitate sales.

Support and Order Status

Give it access to a system where it can see order status and customer history to provide effective support.

Data Access

The assistant needs to "feed" on up-to-date data, whether it's a CRM, an electronic catalog, or PDF files.

System Integration

An effective AI assistant needs access to relevant information from the business's various systems.
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Quick Role Example: “Appointment Assistant”

Primary Purpose: Manage schedules and confirm meetings.

  • Check the current calendar and display available slots.

  • Offer alternatives if the client’s preferred time is unavailable.

  • Send a reminder 24 hours before the scheduled appointment.

  • Communication Style: Polite but relaxed. Encourage clients to ask extra questions and to notify in advance if they need to cancel.