Assistants
Assistants are the core of Phinite. Everything revolves around them.They are intelligent, multi-skilled entities that automate conversations, workflows, and business operations across channels. An Assistant brings together multiple components — Flows, Intents, Triggers, Tools, Environments, Builds, and Copilot — to function as a cohesive unit.
Each component plays a distinct role in defining how the Assistant behaves, interacts, and executes tasks.
Types of Assistants
An assistant is an AI-powered capability that handles user interactions or background tasks using your workflows and tools.- Conversational Assistants: Chat and voice experiences
- Email Assistants: Inbox automation for triage and replies
- Autonomous Assistants: Scheduled or event-driven background jobs
Comparision
| Type | Best for | Triggers | Channels |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conversational | Real-time chat/voice | Intents, chat events | Web Chat, WhatsApp, Slack/Teams, Twilio |
| Asynchronous communication | Inbound email | ||
| Autonomous | Background automation | Schedules, webhooks | N/A |
🧩 Core Architecture
Flows
The heart of the Assistant — a visual workflow created in Flowgen Studio.
Flows connect intents, triggers, and tools to define your automation logic.
Flows connect intents, triggers, and tools to define your automation logic.
Intents
Natural language or programmatic cues that tell the Assistant what the user wants.
Each intent can be AI-generated and linked to a specific flow.
Each intent can be AI-generated and linked to a specific flow.
Triggers
Event-driven or scheduled conditions that start a workflow automatically.
They can originate from APIs, system events, or predefined schedules.
They can originate from APIs, system events, or predefined schedules.
Trigger Intents
Hybrid initiators that combine intent detection with trigger logic.
Ideal for scenarios where a user action and a system signal both control flow initiation.
Ideal for scenarios where a user action and a system signal both control flow initiation.
Tools
Reusable building blocks maintained by developers in DevStudio.
They perform API calls, logic processing, or data transformations.
They perform API calls, logic processing, or data transformations.
Environments
Isolated spaces for development, testing, and production deployment.
Each environment controls visibility, access, and execution logs.
Each environment controls visibility, access, and execution logs.
Builds
Snapshot versions of an Assistant. Builds preserve dependencies, flows, and configurations across environments for controlled release and rollback.
Copilot
AI-powered assistant that helps you generate flows, intents, and triggers in minutes.
It understands context and recommends workflow blocks intelligently.
It understands context and recommends workflow blocks intelligently.
⚙️ How an Assistant Works
Each Assistant operates as a closed loop of logic and action.- Trigger or Intent fires
- Initiates a Flow.
- Flow executes
- Moves across blocks — Agent, Tool, Logic, or Connector.
- Tools perform operations
- API calls, data validation, transformations.
- Responses return to the user or system
- Completing the workflow cycle.
- Logs and observability
- All executions are tracked under the Environment dashboard.
💡 Creating an Assistant
1
Go to Assistants → Create Assistant
Navigate to your workspace and select Create Assistant.
2
Define Type
Choose between Conversational, Autonomous, or System Triggered assistants.
3
Design Flows
Open Flowgen Studio to visually create the workflow using blocks.
4
Link Intents or Triggers
Each flow must be linked to a Trigger or Intent to define its entry point.
5
Attach Tools
Add logic or data connectors from DevStudio’s tool library.
6
Configure Environments
Assign environment settings for Dev, UAT, or Production.
7
Build and Deploy
Finalize and publish the Assistant as a versioned build.
🤖 Copilot
Copilot accelerates assistant creation by generating flows, intents, and triggers using natural language.Usage
- Ask: “Create a flow to schedule a site visit and confirm via email.”
- Copilot will suggest the structure, tool connections, and agent messages.
- You can edit or refine before deploying.
Copilot understands workspace context, available tools, and prior builds.
It’s ideal for quickly iterating complex workflows.
It’s ideal for quickly iterating complex workflows.
🧭 Summary
Assistants in Phinite unify conversation, automation, and integration into a single, agentic architecture.They connect human intent with machine precision — through flows, tools, and triggers — to deliver intelligent, observable, and scalable outcomes.
Everything in Phinite starts and ends with an Assistant.
Design it well — and every automation across your workspace becomes effortless.
Design it well — and every automation across your workspace becomes effortless.
Next steps
- Explore Types of Assistants
- Review Assistant Components
- Build your first flow in Flowgen