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The Athena assistant builds agents from a plain description and edits them while you watch. You can type to it or talk to it by voice. Its changes go to the agent’s draft, so published calls keep using your last published version until you publish again. If you do not see Ask in the header or Talk to Athena at the bottom of the page, the assistant is not turned on for your workspace. You can still build agents with the workflow builder.

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Describe an agent on Home

Home opens with one prompt: What should your agent do?
  1. Describe the job in plain words: who the agent calls or answers, what it must collect, and when it should end. For example: “Call patients the day before their appointment, confirm the time, and offer to reschedule.”
  2. Optionally pick a quick start below the prompt to load a ready-made script and its call direction. A description you write yourself is built for both inbound and outbound calls; the number or campaign a call runs on sets its direction.
  3. Optionally attach up to three text files of up to 512 KB each, such as an FAQ, a script, or a price list in .txt, .md, .csv, .json, .yaml, .xml, or .html. Their text is added to your description.
  4. Choose Create agent. Athena reports its progress while it reads your description and saves the agent, then opens the new agent in the editor.
Review the generated steps, prompts, and settings before you test. A generated agent is a starting point, not a tested release. If the assistant cannot build from your description, it replies with what it needs instead of creating an agent.

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Talk or type to the assistant

Open the assistant with Ask in the header (⌘J on Mac, Ctrl+J on Windows) or the Talk to Athena button.
  • On an agent’s editor, the assistant builds and changes that agent: “Add a step that collects the caller’s email”, “Make the greeting shorter”, or “Transfer to support when the caller asks for a person.”
  • On other pages, ask how Athena works or describe a new agent to build. Answers about Athena come from these docs.
To talk, start a call from the card and allow microphone access. The assistant answers in the language you speak. Use the accent menu to choose how the assistant sounds: American, Indian, German, British, French, Japanese, Korean, Mexican, or Brazilian. To type instead, use Or send a message…. End the voice call with the end-call button.

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Review the assistant’s changes

For a larger request, the assistant may show a plan first. Choose Build it to go ahead or Change plan to adjust it. Each change appears as a card in the conversation: After the assistant finishes, test the draft with Test Audio or a controlled phone call, review the run, and publish when it is ready. Use version history to compare the draft with the published version before you publish.

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Usage

The assistant card shows its usage: either how much of your assistant allowance is left and when it resets, or that it uses your Athena balance. When it shows that it uses your balance, see Billing and balance.

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Good practice

  • Ask for one change at a time and check each card before the next request.
  • Name the step you mean (“the Confirmation step”) when the agent has several.
  • Keep credentials out of the conversation. Add them in Credentials and select them in the tool.
  • The assistant proposes and applies draft changes. It does not publish agents, start campaigns, or place calls; those stay your decision.