How Assist handles complex, multi-step workflows

What you'll learn

By the end of this article you'll understand:

What counts as a complex workflow in Assist
How Assist figures out which agents and output templates to use for a big job
What Plan Mode is and why it matters
How Assist executes the plan — step by step, with visible progress
What the "What's ready" recap looks like when everything is done

The main explanation

What counts as a complex workflow?

Most requests are simple: one output, one agent, done. But sometimes you need more.

A complex workflow is any request that involves more than one output, more than one specialist agent, or multiple stages that depend on each other. For example:

"Research these three prospects, write a personalised email to each, and build me a tracker."
"Summarise last quarter's reports, pull out the key numbers, and create a slide deck."
"Draft a job description, write a LinkedIn post to promote it, and save both to the Hiring project."

Assist is built to handle all of these. You don't need to break the job into pieces yourself — just describe what you want.

How Assist figures out what's needed

Before doing anything, Assist gathers context. It checks:

Which projects and knowledge you have access to
Which agents are available (e.g. a Research Agent, an Email Writer)
Which output templates exist that match your request (e.g. an Outreach Email template, a CRM Tracker)

You'll see these lookups appear as inline chips in the chat — small labels like Used: List Projects or Used: Search Knowledge . They're there so you can see exactly what Assist is working with.

If anything is unclear, Assist will ask a small set of clarifying questions before moving forward. These are usually multiple-choice to keep things fast.

Plan Mode — see the plan before anything happens

This is the big one.

For any non-trivial request, Assist doesn't just start executing. It stops, drafts a numbered plan, and shows it to you first. You'll see something like:

Drafting plan…

Here's what I'm planning to do:

Research Company A, B, and C using @ResearchAgent

Draft a personalised outreach email for each using the Email Outreach template

Build a prospect tracker spreadsheet using the CRM Tracker template

Link the emails and research notes into the tracker

Deliver a summary recap with everything in one place

Does this look right? Approve, tweak, or let me know if you'd like to change anything.

Nothing happens until you say so. You're in control.

If the plan looks wrong — too many steps, missing something, or using the wrong template — just tell Assist. It will rework the plan before proceeding.

Execution — Assist works through the plan

Once you approve, Assist gets to work. It moves through each step in order, surfacing progress as it goes:

Inline chips show which agents and tools are being used (Delegated to @ResearchAgent , Used: Email Outreach template )
A progress indicator keeps you updated (Task 2 of 5 )
Where steps don't depend on each other, Assist can run them in parallel — for example, the Output Editor populating a document at the same time as the Data Analyst Agent builds a spreadsheet

You don't need to do anything during execution. Just watch the progress, and step in if something looks off.

The "What's ready" recap

When the job is done, Assist delivers a "What's ready" recap. This lists:

Every asset created and what it contains
Where each asset has been saved (which project, which folder)
How to reuse each one — for example, "Create a new output from the Email Outreach template" or "Mention @ResearchAgent to run this again"

Think of it as a handover note. Everything you need to pick up the work — or repeat it next time — is right there.

Example / walkthrough

Worked example: pitching to three new prospects

Here's how a real complex workflow plays out from start to finish.

The request

You type into Assist:

"I'm pitching to three new prospects next week. Can you research each company, draft a personalised outreach email for each, and give me a tracker so I can log responses?"

Step 1 — Context gathering

Assist immediately starts looking around. You'll see inline chips appear:

Used: List Projects → Used: Search Knowledge → Used: List Agents → Used: Search Output Templates

Assist finds a @ResearchAgent, an Email Outreach output template, and a CRM Tracker template already in your workspace. It surfaces these as part of its response so you know what it's working with.

Step 2 — Clarifying questions

Assist asks a few quick questions before planning:

Which three companies? (You type: Acme Corp, Bright Labs, Nova Systems)
What tone for the emails? Formal / Friendly-professional / Casual
One combined tracker or three separate docs? One tracker / Three separate

You pick your answers and hit send.

Step 3 — Plan Mode

Assist pauses and drafts the plan:

Here's what I'm planning:

Research Acme Corp, Bright Labs, and Nova Systems using @ResearchAgent

Draft a personalised outreach email for each company using the Email Outreach template

Build a single prospect tracker spreadsheet using the CRM Tracker template

Populate the tracker with each company's research summary and link to their email draft

Deliver a "What's ready" recap with all assets and reuse instructions

Ready to go? Approve or let me know what to change.

You review it, decide step 2 should use a slightly different template, and tell Assist: "Use the Short-Form Outreach template instead of Email Outreach." Assist updates the plan and confirms. You approve.

Step 4 — Execution

Assist gets to work. Progress chips appear in the chat:

Task 1/5 — Delegated to @ResearchAgent (running for all three companies in parallel)
Task 2/5 — Output Editor: drafting emails using Short-Form Outreach template
Task 3/5 — Data Analyst Agent: building CRM Tracker spreadsheet

Steps 1, 2, and 3 run in parallel where possible. You watch the progress tick up.

Step 5 — The "What's ready" recap

When everything is done, Assist delivers:

What's ready

Research notes — Acme Corp, Bright Labs, Nova Systems (saved to Prospects / June 2026)

Outreach emails — three drafts, one per company (saved to Prospects / June 2026)

Prospect tracker — one spreadsheet with all three companies, linked to their notes and emails (saved to Prospects / June 2026)

To reuse this workflow: mention @ResearchAgent and the Short-Form Outreach template in a new chat, or create a new output directly from the CRM Tracker template.

Everything is in one place. You're ready to pitch.

Tips & common pitfalls

You can edit the plan before approving

Don't feel locked in. If a step looks wrong, just tell Assist — "swap step 3 for X" or "skip the tracker, I don't need it." Assist will update the plan and show you the revised version before doing anything.

You can stop mid-flow

If something looks off during execution, say so. Assist will pause. It's better to catch a mistake early than to let it ripple through the rest of the steps.

Big jobs take longer — that's normal

A five-step workflow with three research passes and multiple outputs will take more time than a single chat reply. That's expected. The progress indicator will keep you updated so you're never left wondering what's happening.

Assist can only use what you have access to

If a plan references an agent or output template you don't have permission to use, Assist will flag it. It won't silently skip it. If you see a permissions note, check with your workspace admin.

Push back if the plan feels wrong

If the plan looks too small ("that's only two steps — you've missed the spreadsheet") or too big ("I just need the emails, not a full research pass"), say so. Assist will rework it. The plan is a starting point, not a contract.

You don't need to use @-mentions for complex workflows

Assist will figure out which agents and templates to use on its own. You only need to use @ if you want to force a specific resource. For most complex requests, just describe what you want in plain language and let Assist build the plan.