Overview
Bolt Student Assistants are designed to provide users with accurate and relevant answers based on their context and assigned knowledge. The key to maximizing their effectiveness lies in careful planning—balancing specialized assistants with generalist ones to ensure smooth, accurate responses without overwhelming users.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through how assistants work together and provide steps to help you structure your assistants in a way that delivers a great user experience.
Things to Consider
Generative AI Model: Bolt Assistants use AI to interpret questions and respond based on their assigned knowledge. Unlike decision-tree systems, they don’t rely on rigid rules but instead interpret the intent behind each question.
Specialization + Teams: You can assign specific skills and knowledge to assistants (e.g., program-specific or general financial aid inquiries) and group them into teams to ensure collaboration.
Planning Matters: A well-planned assistant structure helps avoid confusing or irrelevant responses, keeping the user experience streamlined and efficient.
Steps to Ensure Effective Planning of Your Assistants
Identify Key Use Cases
Start by defining what types of questions students are most likely to ask and in what context.
For general areas of your website, like admissions or campus information, consider using a generalist assistant who can handle a wide variety of questions.
For more specific sections, like academic programs (e.g., MBA or nursing), deploy specialized assistants that focus on answering questions related to those areas.
Determine Where Specialization is Needed
Use specialized assistants only where necessary. For instance, in the MBA section of your site, a dedicated MBA Admissions Assistant would provide highly relevant answers.
In contrast, on a general admissions page, you wouldn’t need an assistant for every individual program—one or two generalist assistants should cover the most common inquiries.
Limit Overlap in General Contexts
Avoid deploying too many specialized assistants in broad sections of your site. For example, if multiple program-specific assistants are available in a general area, they may return confusing or irrelevant information.
Keeping the number of assistants minimal in general contexts helps users get consistent and accurate answers without confusion.
Use Internal Descriptions for Better Collaboration
Ensure assistants can work together efficiently by using the internal description feature. This allows one assistant to direct the user to another within the same team if a question falls outside its expertise. For example, if the admissions assistant cannot answer a detailed financial aid question, the internal description can guide it in passing the query to a financial aid assistant.
Test the User Experience
Once your assistants are deployed, test them by asking different types of questions. Make sure that specialized assistants provide answers relevant to their focus and that generalists cover broader topics without unnecessary redirection.
Adjust the setup if you notice assistants returning inconsistent answers or directing users unnecessarily.
Balance Generalist and Specialist Assistants
In highly specific sections (e.g., MBA or medical programs), ensure your assistants are tightly focused.
In more general sections, simplify the setup by using fewer generalist assistants that can handle a variety of common questions.
Less is more in general contexts—too many assistants can overwhelm users or lead to conflicting answers.
Additional Pro Tips
Keep the student's experience in mind. Always plan with their perspective in mind. The goal is to deliver the information they need quickly and accurately without unnecessarily sending them through multiple assistants.
Don't be afraid to iterate and adjust. As you gather more insights into how users interact with your assistants, continue refining their structure for improved performance.