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Assistant Capabilities

Achiral AI is a privacy-first AI platform for businesses with enterprise-grade, self-hosted, secure infrastructure. Your AI assistants (Chiro and Executive Assistants) can be equipped with different capabilities—think of them as specific skills that enhance what your assistant can do.

What Are Capabilities?​

Capabilities are like skills, but more contextually contained and influential. While traditional skills might be broad (like "writing" or "analysis"), capabilities are:

  • Contextually contained: Each capability has a specific scope and purpose within your organization
  • Influential: Capabilities directly shape how your assistant behaves and what it can accomplish
  • Actionable: Unlike passive knowledge, capabilities enable your assistant to take concrete actions

For example, the "Create Orders" capability doesn't just mean your assistant knows about orders—it means your assistant can actually create them in your system, following your organization's rules and workflows.

Overview​

Capabilities determine what your assistant can do beyond answering questions. While your assistant always has access to your organization's intelligence and context, capabilities enable executable skills and define the assistant's operational boundaries.

Capabilities vs. Intelligence​

It's important to understand the difference:

AspectIntelligenceCapabilities
What it isKnowledge and context about your organizationExecutable skills that define behavior
ExamplesCompany info, team structure, policiesCreate orders, schedule meetings, analyze documents
How it's configuredWebsite crawling (ChiroBot), document uploadsEnabled/configured by admins in Settings
PurposeInform responses with relevant contextDefine what actions assistant can take
ScopeOrganization-wide or user-specificCapability-specific with granular controls

Intelligence tells your assistant what to know. Capabilities tell your assistant what it can do and how it should behave.

Available Capabilities​

Capabilities are scoped to either organization-level (Chiro only), user-level (Executive Assistants only), or shared (both types). Your organization's tier determines how many capabilities you can enable simultaneously.

Organization-Level Capabilities (Chiro Only)​

These capabilities are only available to your organization-wide Chiro assistant and operate at the organization scope.

Access Organization Analytics​

ID: access_org_analytics
Category: Organization Intelligence

Query org-wide metrics, KPIs, and dashboards to provide data-driven insights.

Use cases:

  • "What's our company-wide revenue this quarter?"
  • "Show me department headcount across the organization"
  • "Compare performance metrics year-over-year"

Configuration required:

  • allowedMetrics - Which metrics can be queried
  • dataRetention - How far back historical data can be accessed

Tier availability: Seed and above

Manage Organization Policies​

ID: manage_org_policies
Category: Organization Management

Access and explain company policies, procedures, and organizational guidelines.

Use cases:

  • "What's our PTO policy?"
  • "Explain the expense reimbursement process"
  • "What are the security requirements for new vendors?"

Configuration required: None

Tier availability: All tiers (Spark and above)

Provision Resources​

ID: provision_resources
Category: Organization Management

Create shared resources like channels, projects, and teams.

Use cases:

  • "Create a Slack channel for the Q2 planning initiative"
  • "Set up a new project for the website redesign"
  • "Create a shared folder for HR documents"

Configuration required:

  • allowedResourceTypes - What types of resources can be created
  • requiresApproval - Whether provisioning requires approval

Tier availability: Growth and above

Broadcast Announcements​

ID: broadcast_announcements
Category: Organization Communication

Send organization-wide communications and announcements.

Use cases:

  • "Announce the all-hands meeting to everyone"
  • "Send a company update about the new policy"
  • "Notify all departments about the system upgrade"

Configuration required:

  • requiresApproval - Whether announcements require approval
  • allowedChannels - Which channels can be used for broadcasts

Tier availability: Seed and above

Access System Health​

ID: access_system_health
Category: Organization Intelligence

Monitor observability, system status, and operational metrics.

Use cases:

  • "Are there any system errors today?"
  • "Show me slow API endpoints"
  • "What's our uptime this month?"

Configuration required: None

Tier availability: All tiers (Spark and above)

Manage Departments​

ID: manage_departments
Category: Organization Management

Access department structures, team information, and organizational hierarchy.

Use cases:

  • "Who's in the engineering department?"
  • "Show me the org chart for marketing"
  • "What teams report to the CTO?"

Configuration required: None

Tier availability: All tiers (Spark and above)

Onboard Employees​

ID: onboard_employees
Category: Organization Management

Assist with org-wide employee onboarding processes and workflows.

Use cases:

  • "Create an onboarding checklist for the new hire"
  • "What are the Day 1 requirements for new employees?"
  • "Send welcome materials to the new team member"

Configuration required:

  • onboardingWorkflows - Which onboarding workflows to use
  • requiresHRApproval - Whether actions require HR approval

Tier availability: Growth and above

User-Level Capabilities (Executive Assistants Only)​

These capabilities are only available to individual Executive Assistants and operate on behalf of their assigned user.

Create Orders​

ID: create_orders
Category: Commerce & Transactions

Your assistant can create orders in your system on your behalf.

Use cases:

  • "Create an order for 100 units of SKU-12345"
  • "Order office supplies for the marketing team"
  • "Place a recurring order for monthly subscriptions"

Configuration required:

  • allowedOrderTypes - Which order types can be created
  • maxOrdersPerDay - Daily order creation limit
  • requiresApproval - Whether orders require approval

Tier availability: All tiers (Spark and above)

Scope: User-level only (operates on assigned user's behalf)

Schedule Meetings​

ID: schedule_meetings
Category: Productivity & Organization

Your assistant can schedule meetings and manage your calendar.

Use cases:

  • "Schedule a team sync for next Tuesday at 2pm"
  • "Find a time for me and Sarah to meet this week"
  • "Move my 3pm meeting to tomorrow"

Configuration required:

  • calendarProvider - Calendar integration (Google Calendar, Microsoft 365, etc.)

Tier availability: Seed and above

Scope: User-level only

Analyze Documents​

ID: analyze_documents
Category: Intelligence & Analysis

Your assistant can process and analyze uploaded documents.

Use cases:

  • "Summarize this 50-page contract"
  • "Extract key metrics from this financial report"
  • "Compare these two proposals"

Configuration required: None

Tier availability: All tiers (Spark and above)

Scope: User-level only (analyzes user's documents)

Manage Tasks​

ID: manage_tasks
Category: Productivity & Organization

Your assistant can create, update, and track tasks.

Use cases:

  • "Create a task to review the Q1 report"
  • "Mark the onboarding task as complete"
  • "Show me my high-priority tasks"

Configuration required: None

Tier availability: All tiers (Spark and above)

Scope: User-level only

Send Emails​

ID: send_emails
Category: Communication

Your assistant can send emails on your behalf.

Use cases:

  • "Email the team about tomorrow's meeting"
  • "Send a thank you note to the client"
  • "Draft a follow-up email to yesterday's call"

Configuration required:

  • emailProvider - Email service integration
  • requiresApproval - Whether emails require approval (recommended)

Tier availability: Seed and above

Scope: User-level only (sends from user's account)

Access User Analytics​

ID: access_user_analytics
Category: Intelligence & Analysis

Query your personal metrics and analytics.

Use cases:

  • "What's my task completion rate this month?"
  • "Show me my meeting hours for this week"
  • "How many emails have I sent today?"

Configuration required: None

Tier availability: Seed and above

Scope: User-level only

Manage Contacts​

ID: manage_contacts
Category: Productivity & Organization

Manage your contacts and professional relationships.

Use cases:

  • "Add John Doe to my contacts"
  • "Show me all contacts at Acme Corp"
  • "Update Sarah's phone number"

Configuration required: None

Tier availability: All tiers (Spark and above)

Scope: User-level only

Shared Capabilities (Both Chiro and EAs)​

These capabilities are available to both organization-level and user-level assistants, but operate within appropriate scope.

Answer Questions​

ID: answer_questions
Category: Intelligence & Analysis

Basic Q&A using knowledge base and context.

Use cases:

  • "What does our company do?"
  • "Tell me about Project Alpha"
  • "Explain the difference between our Pro and Enterprise plans"

Configuration required: None

Tier availability: All tiers (Spark and above)

Always enabled: Yes (cannot be disabled)

Scope: Shared (Chiro answers org questions, EA answers user-specific questions)

Search Knowledge​

ID: search_knowledge
Category: Intelligence & Analysis

Search organization intelligence and uploaded documents.

Use cases:

  • "Find documents about our Q4 strategy"
  • "Search for information about Project Alpha"
  • "What do we know about competitor XYZ?"

Configuration required: None

Tier availability: All tiers (Spark and above)

Scope: Shared (Chiro searches org-wide, EA searches user's documents)

Access External APIs​

ID: access_external_apis
Category: External Integrations

Call configured external APIs with appropriate scope.

Use cases:

  • "Check inventory levels in our warehouse system"
  • "Query Salesforce for this customer's status"
  • "Get weather forecast for our office locations"

Configuration required:

  • apiEndpoints - API endpoint configuration
  • rateLimit - Rate limiting configuration

Tier availability: Growth and above

Scope: Shared (with appropriate access controls)

Managing Capabilities​

For Organization Admins​

Enabling Capabilities​

  1. Go to your organization dashboard
  2. Navigate to Settings → Assistant Settings
  3. Select "Assistant Capabilities" section
  4. Browse capabilities grouped by category
  5. Toggle capabilities on/off using the switches
  6. Configure required settings for capabilities that need them
  7. Click Save Capabilities

Configuration Panels​

For capabilities that require configuration (marked with ⚙️), you'll see an expandable configuration panel when you enable the capability. Fill in all required fields before saving.

Tier Limits​

Your tier determines how many capabilities you can enable:

TierCapability LimitNotes
Spark3 capabilitiesPerfect for getting started
Seed7 capabilitiesIncludes commerce capabilities
GrowthUnlimitedAll capabilities available
DedicatedUnlimitedAll capabilities + custom integrations

Note: The answer_questions capability is always enabled and doesn't count toward your limit.

For End Users​

Your organization admin controls which capabilities are available to your assistant. If you need a capability that's not enabled, contact your admin or submit a request through Settings → Request Capability.

You can see which capabilities your assistant has by asking: "What can you help me with?"

How Capabilities Work​

In System Prompts​

When you enable capabilities for an assistant, they're automatically included in the assistant's system prompt. This means the assistant "knows" what it can do and will reference these capabilities when responding to your requests.

For example, if "Create Orders" is enabled, the assistant will understand it can create orders and will offer to do so when appropriate.

Capability Detection​

Assistants use their enabled capabilities to:

  • Understand what actions they can take
  • Reference capabilities in responses ("I can create an order for you")
  • Stay within their operational boundaries
  • Provide more helpful, actionable responses

Future: Capability Execution (Phase 6)​

Currently, capabilities are declarative—they inform the assistant's behavior and responses. In a future release, we'll add execution frameworks that allow assistants to programmatically execute capabilities (like actually creating orders in your system).

Security & Permissions​

Scope Enforcement​

Capabilities are strictly scoped:

  • Organization capabilities can only be enabled on Chiro
  • User capabilities can only be enabled on Executive Assistants
  • Shared capabilities work on both, but with appropriate scope restrictions

Attempting to enable a user capability on Chiro (or vice versa) will result in a validation error.

Approval Workflows​

For sensitive capabilities, you can configure approval workflows:

  • Orders can require manager approval
  • Emails can require review before sending
  • Resource provisioning can require admin approval

Audit Logs​

All capability configuration changes are logged:

  • Who enabled/disabled the capability
  • When it was changed
  • What configuration was set

Troubleshooting​

Capability Not Showing Up​

Problem: Don't see a capability you expect

Solutions:

  1. Check your organization tier—some capabilities require Seed or Growth tier
  2. Verify you haven't reached your tier's capability limit
  3. Check if capability is scope-appropriate (user capability on Chiro won't work)

Configuration Required Error​

Problem: Can't save because configuration is missing

Solutions:

  1. Click the "Configuration" button to expand the config panel
  2. Fill in all required fields
  3. Make sure integrations are set up (e.g., email provider for Send Emails)

Can't Disable Capability​

Problem: Toggle switch is disabled

Solutions:

  • The answer_questions capability is always enabled and cannot be disabled
  • This is by design—all assistants need basic Q&A capability

Best Practices​

Start Small​

Begin with 2-3 essential capabilities. Add more as your team gets comfortable with how they work.

Match to Role​

  • Chiro: Enable organization-wide capabilities that help with company-wide questions
  • Executive Assistants: Enable productivity capabilities that help with individual work

Review Periodically​

Quarterly, review enabled capabilities and disable those that aren't being used to stay within tier limits.

Use Clear Names​

When configuring capabilities, use clear, descriptive names in configuration fields so your team understands what's enabled.

FAQ​

Q: Can I create custom capabilities?
A: Custom capabilities are available on the Dedicated tier. Contact sales for details.

Q: Do capabilities cost extra?
A: Capabilities are included in your tier. Some integrations (e.g., SendGrid) may have their own costs.

Q: Can different assistants have different capabilities?
A: Yes! Each assistant (Chiro and each EA) can have its own capability configuration.

Q: What happens if I disable a capability mid-conversation?
A: The assistant will immediately lose access. The capability will no longer appear in its system prompt for new messages.

Q: Are capabilities shared across organizations?
A: No. Capabilities are isolated per organization. Your assistant can't use capabilities to access other organizations' data.

Q: Can I set daily limits for capabilities?
A: Yes, for certain capabilities like "Create Orders" you can configure maxOrdersPerDay and similar limits.

Q: What's the difference between capabilities and skills?
A: Capabilities are like skills, but more contextually contained and influential. They define specific, actionable behaviors rather than general knowledge areas.

Support​

Need help with capabilities?

Related Documentation:

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