Creating an Output Template

Intelligent Output Templates allow you to standardise and automate the creation of complex documents. By defining the structure, sections, and AI instructions, you can ensure your team generates consistent, high-quality content every time. This guide will walk you through the process of building your own custom Output Template in Assist 2.0.

In Assist 2.0, you can either build a template manually using the form described below, or simply ask Assist to create one for you in chat (e.g. "Create an output template for a production brief") — the AI will draft the template, which you can then refine.

Template Scope: Organisation vs. Workspace

Templates can live at two different levels in your left-hand navigation, each with a distinct scope:

Organisation Templates: Available across your entire organisation. Found under the Organisation heading in the left-hand nav. Perfect for standardised documents every team uses, like company-wide reports or briefs.

Workspace Templates: Only available within the specific workspace where they are created. Found under the Workspace heading in the left-hand nav. Use these for project-specific or team-specific document formats.

This guide focuses on creating a Workspace Template — the process is the same for Organisation Templates.

How to Create a New Workspace Template

Follow these steps to build your template from scratch.

1. Navigate to the Templates Area

From the left-hand navigation menu, select Workspace Templates under the Workspace heading.

2. Start a New Template

On the Output Templates page, click the + Create Template button in the top-right corner.

3. Fill Out the Template Details

This section defines how your template appears to users when they select it.

Template Name: Give your template a clear and descriptive name. For example, Production Brief.

What does this template do?: Write a short description of the template's purpose. This text will be visible to users and helps them understand what the template will generate.

Example: This is an output that will generate a production brief.

Template Icon: Click Change icon to choose an icon and colour to represent your template in the list visually. This makes it easier for users to find.

Expected Completion Time (Hours): Set an estimated time for completion. This helps users understand how long an output from this template typically takes to produce.

4. Configure the AI Instructions

This is the most critical part of the process, as it tells the AI assistant how to behave and what to do when this template is used.

Welcome Message: This is the first message the AI will display when a user opens the template. It should prompt the user for the information it needs to get started.

Example: "Please provide me with the production details."

AI Instructions: This is the overarching system prompt that defines the AI's role or persona. Think of it as setting the stage for all subsequent actions. The more detailed and comprehensive you are here, the better the results will be.

Example: "You are a Senior Creative Producer and Strategic Planning Specialist… with deep expertise in translating brand strategy into actionable production frameworks. Access and utilise all available brand data, competitive insights, and historical performance metrics to ensure each brief is uniquely tailored…"

AI Guidelines: Provide specific stylistic or behavioural guidelines for the AI, such as tone of voice.

Example: "Write in a clear, confident, and approachable tone — not overly salesy or hype-driven."

Data Agent Instructions (Optional): Instructions for the Data Agent when analysing spreadsheets, charts, images, and other data sources during generation.

5. Define the Template Sections

Sections are the building blocks of your final document. Each section you add will correspond to a distinct part of the output.

1. Click + Add Section.
2. Give the section a title (e.g. Project Overview & Objectives).
3. In the AI Instructions for this section box, provide a specific prompt that tells the AI exactly what content to generate for this part of the document.

Example for "Project Overview": "Analyse the uploaded brand materials and project requirements to create a clear project overview section. Include: (1) Project name and brief description, (2) Primary objectives and key success metrics, (3) Target audience…"

Continue adding sections until your document structure is complete.

6. (Optional) Attach a Document Template

If you want your output to be exported into a specific document format, you can upload a Document Template (DOCX or PPTX) using the Upload Document Template option. The AI will use this as the formatting basis when producing the final document.

7. Save and Use Your Template

Once you're happy with your setup, click Create Template (or Update Template if editing an existing one).

Templates you create are owned by you, and only the owner can edit them. To share editing rights, ownership needs to be transferred.

To use your new template, you can either:

• Navigate to a project, click + New Output, and select your template from the list, or
• Mention the template's associated Agent directly in chat using @AgentName  , or
• Simply describe what you want in chat — Assist can find and use the right template for you automatically.

Follow the Welcome Message prompt to provide the necessary files or information, and watch the AI build your document according to your instructions.

It is highly recommended that you QC your Output Template after creating it to ensure it repeatedly produces accurate outputs.