What is an AI assistant?
An AI assistant is a program that uses a large language model (LLM) to reason and take actions on your behalf. Unlike a simple chatbot that only responds to questions, an assistant can plan a sequence of steps, use tools, read and write data, and complete tasks end-to-end with minimal human input.
How assistants work
- You give the assistant a goal or a trigger (for example, "summarise all new support tickets each morning")
- The assistant breaks the goal into steps using its reasoning capabilities
- It uses connected tools — APIs, databases, integrations — to carry out each step
- It returns a result or takes an action (sends a Slack message, updates a spreadsheet, creates a ticket, etc.)
What assistants can connect to
On QuivaWorks, assistants can be connected to integrations including:
- Communication — Slack, email
- Productivity — Google Drive, Notion, Microsoft 365
- CRM & support — HubSpot, Zendesk, Salesforce
- Payments — Stripe
- Custom APIs — via the MCP framework
Assistants vs automations
Traditional automations follow fixed rules: if X happens, do Y. AI assistants are more flexible — they can handle ambiguous instructions, adapt to varying inputs, and make judgment calls that rule-based tools cannot.