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Administrator Guide: Managing Assistant Capabilities

Complete guide for organization administrators to configure and manage assistant capabilities.

Overview​

As an organization administrator, you control which capabilities are available to your AI assistants (Chiro and Executive Assistants). This guide covers:

  • How to enable/disable capabilities
  • Configuring capability settings
  • Understanding tier limitations
  • Best practices for capability management
  • Troubleshooting common issues

Access Control​

Who Can Manage Capabilities?​

  • Organization Admins: Full access to enable/disable capabilities for all assistants
  • Assistant Owners: Limited access to view their own assistant's capabilities
  • End Users: View-only access to their assistant's enabled capabilities

Permission Requirements​

To manage capabilities, you need:

  • Organization admin role
  • Access to Settings → Assistant Settings

Accessing Capability Settings​

Step-by-Step​

  1. Log in to your Achiral organization dashboard
  2. Navigate to Settings (gear icon in top right)
  3. Select Assistant Settings from the left menu
  4. Find your assistant (Chiro or specific EA)
  5. Click Capabilities tab (or section)
  6. You'll see all available and enabled capabilities

Enabling Capabilities​

Basic Steps​

  1. Click the toggle switch next to a capability to enable it
  2. For capabilities requiring configuration:
    • Click Configure button
    • Fill in all required fields
    • Click Save Configuration
  3. Click Save Capabilities button at the bottom
  4. Success message appears—changes take effect immediately

Understanding Configuration Fields​

Each capability that requires configuration displays required fields. Example for "Create Orders":

FieldPurposeExample
allowedOrderTypesWhich order types the assistant can createstandard, rush, custom
maxOrdersPerDayMaximum orders per day limit10
requiresApprovalWhether orders need manager approvaltrue (recommended for cost control)

Important: All required fields must be completed before saving.

Disabling Capabilities​

  1. Click the toggle switch to disable
  2. The capability is immediately disabled
  3. Click Save Capabilities
  4. Conversations that don't use the capability aren't affected
  5. New conversations won't have access to that capability

Note: The answer_questions capability cannot be disabled—all assistants need basic Q&A.

Tier Limits​

Understanding Your Tier's Capability Limit​

Your organization tier determines how many capabilities you can enable:

TierCapability LimitBest ForExamples
Spark3 capabilitiesEvaluating capabilitiesBasic Q&A + 2 productivity features
Seed7 capabilitiesSmall teamsProductivity + some commerce
GrowthUnlimitedMost organizationsAll capabilities enabled
DedicatedUnlimited + CustomEnterpriseCustom capabilities + all standard ones

How Always-Enabled Capabilities Count​

The answer_questions capability is always enabled and counts toward your limit. This means:

  • Spark tier: 3 total = 1 (answer_questions) + 2 additional
  • Seed tier: 7 total = 1 (answer_questions) + 6 additional
  • Growth/Dedicated: No practical limit

Reaching Your Tier Limit​

If you've enabled the maximum capabilities:

  1. You'll see a notification: "You've reached your capability limit for [Tier] tier"
  2. The UI will prevent enabling more capabilities
  3. To enable a new one, disable an existing capability first
  4. Or upgrade to a higher tier (see billing section)

Capability Configuration Best Practices​

For "Create Orders" Capability​

Recommended Settings:

allowedOrderTypes: ["standard", "rush"]
maxOrdersPerDay: 10
requiresApproval: true  ← Strongly recommended

Why:

  • Limiting order types prevents unexpected orders
  • Daily limits provide cost control
  • Approval requirement ensures oversight
  • Can adjust after seeing usage patterns

For "Send Emails" Capability​

Recommended Settings:

emailProvider: "Gmail" or "Office365"  ← Must be configured first
requiresApproval: true  ← Strongly recommended

Why:

  • Email provider must be pre-configured by IT
  • Approval prevents unwanted emails
  • Errors are logged for audit purposes

For "Broadcast Announcements" Capability​

Recommended Settings:

requiresApproval: true  ← Must be true
allowedChannels: ["company-announcements", "general"]

Why:

  • Approval prevents misinformation
  • Channel limits prevent unintended broadcasts
  • Audit trail is maintained

Security Considerations​

Principle of Least Privilege​

Enable only the capabilities your team actually needs:

  • Don't enable features "just in case"
  • Review quarterly and disable unused capabilities
  • Start conservative, expand based on feedback

Sensitive Capabilities​

Certain capabilities should always require approval:

CapabilityRecommendationReason
create_ordersApproval: YesFinancial impact
send_emailsApproval: YesExternal communication
broadcast_announcementsApproval: AlwaysOrganization-wide impact
access_external_apisReview ConfigData access control

Audit and Monitoring​

All capability usage is logged:

  • What: Which capability was configured/used
  • Who: Which admin made the change
  • When: Timestamp of the action
  • Config: What settings were applied

Access logs under Settings → Audit Log → Capabilities

Troubleshooting​

"Can't Enable Capability" Errors​

Error: "Your [Tier] tier allows maximum X capabilities"

Solution:

  1. Disable a capability you're not using
  2. Or upgrade your plan
  3. Check which capabilities are enabled: View capability list

Error: "Capability requires [Tier] or higher"

Solution:

  1. Check capability's tier requirement in descriptions
  2. Upgrade to required tier
  3. Contact sales for trial access

"Configuration Missing" Errors​

Error: "Capability 'X' is missing required configuration"

Solution:

  1. Click Configure button
  2. Fill in ALL required fields (marked with *)
  3. Ensure integrations are set up (e.g., email provider)
  4. Click Save Configuration
  5. Try saving again

Capability Not Appearing in Conversations​

Troubleshooting:

  1. Verify capability is enabled (toggle is ON)
  2. Check if it appears in the capability list
  3. Restart conversation (old conversations don't update)
  4. For new conversations, capability should appear
  5. Check assistant's system prompt mentions capability

Changes Not Taking Effect​

Troubleshooting:

  1. Ensure you clicked Save Capabilities (not just Configure)
  2. Look for success notification
  3. Refresh the page
  4. Start a new conversation with the assistant
  5. Check audit log to confirm change was recorded

Managing Multiple Assistants​

Chiro (Organization-Level)​

Chiro can have:

  • All organization-level capabilities
  • Some shared capabilities
  • Configuration controls org-wide access

Tip: Use Chiro for organization-wide analytics and policies

Executive Assistants (User-Level)​

Each EA can have:

  • User-level capabilities (different config per EA)
  • Some shared capabilities
  • Independent configuration per EA

Tip: Customize each EA based on their user's role

Consistent Configuration Across EAs​

To apply the same configuration to multiple EAs:

  1. Configure the first EA
  2. Note down the configuration settings
  3. Apply same settings to other EAs
  4. Or write a script using the API (for many EAs)

Best Practices​

Starting Out​

  1. Week 1: Enable 1-2 basic capabilities (e.g., manage_tasks, analyze_documents)
  2. Week 2: Gather feedback from users
  3. Week 3: Add 1-2 more based on feedback
  4. Month 2: Evaluate usage and add as needed

Quarterly Reviews​

Every 3 months, review:

  • Which capabilities are actually being used
  • Which ones could be disabled
  • Whether to upgrade tier for more capabilities
  • Changes needed in configuration

Communication​

When enabling a capability:

  1. Notify relevant teams
  2. Provide examples of how to use it
  3. Document in internal knowledge base
  4. Include in team training/onboarding

API Management​

For Programmatic Configuration​

If managing many assistants, use the API:

curl -X PATCH "https://api.achiral.ai/api/assistants/{id}/capabilities" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "capabilities": ["create_orders", "manage_tasks"],
    "capabilityConfigs": {
      "create_orders": {
        "allowedOrderTypes": ["standard"],
        "maxOrdersPerDay": 5,
        "requiresApproval": true
      }
    }
  }'

See Capabilities API Reference for complete documentation.

Billing & Upgrades​

Tier Upgrade Process​

  1. Go to Settings → Billing
  2. Select Upgrade Plan
  3. Choose new tier
  4. Review pricing and capabilities
  5. Complete upgrade
  6. Capabilities become available immediately

Cost Considerations​

Capabilities themselves are included in your tier. Some integrations may have additional costs:

CapabilityPotential CostNotes
send_emailsVariableEmail API (SendGrid, etc.)
schedule_meetingsFreeIntegrated with email provider
access_external_apisVariableDepends on API provider

FAQ​

Q: Can I enable a capability just for specific users?
A: Not currently. Capabilities are per-assistant. For user-level EAs, enable on their assistant. For org-level Chiro, all users get access.

Q: What happens if I disable a capability mid-conversation?
A: The capability is immediately unavailable. Existing conversation history isn't affected. New messages won't have access to it.

Q: Do users need to know about each capability?
A: Not necessarily. Just ask your assistant "What can you help me with?" and it will list available capabilities.

Q: How do I test a capability?
A: Enable the capability, start a conversation with the assistant, and ask it to use the capability.

Q: Can I set different limits for different EAs?
A: Yes, each EA (or Chiro) can have independent configuration.

Q: Is there a limit to how many times a capability can be used?
A: Some capabilities have built-in limits (e.g., maxOrdersPerDay). Others are unlimited unless configured.

Getting Help​

Support Channels​

Resources​

Last Updated: January 2026
For questions or updates: support@achiral.ai