Understanding Assistants
TNTCLE assistants are AI-powered tools that automate workflows, respond to customers, and integrate with your existing software. This guide explains how they work and what they can do for your business.
What is an Assistant?
An assistant is a configurable automation that handles specific tasks in your business. Each assistant can:
- Respond to customers via email, SMS, or chat
- Connect to your tools like QuickBooks, Shopify, and HubSpot
- Automate repetitive tasks so you can focus on what matters
- Notify you of important events through the alert system
Assistant Architecture
Each assistant consists of three main components:
1. Type (Communication Channel)
How the assistant interacts with users:
| Type | Use Case |
|---|
| Email | Respond to customer inquiries via email |
| Phone | Handle SMS/text message conversations |
| Chatbot | Embed on your website for live chat |
| Webhook | Connect to external services and APIs |
2. Access Roles
Who can interact with the assistant:
- Admin — Full control (you and your managers)
- Vendor — Partner access (suppliers, contractors)
- Employee — Team member access (staff, sales)
- Customer — Public access (anyone can interact)
3. Connections (Integrations)
Which tools the assistant can access:
- QuickBooks — Customer records, invoices, payments
- Shopify — Orders, inventory, product data
- HubSpot — Contacts, deals, tickets
- Google Drive — Files, documents, folders
- Google Calendar — Events, meetings, availability
- Stripe/Square — Payments, subscriptions, invoices
- Mailchimp — Email lists, campaigns
Example Use Cases
Customer Support Assistant
Type: Email + Chatbot
Roles: Customer
Connections: HubSpot, Google Drive
This assistant responds to customer inquiries, looks up their account in HubSpot, and provides relevant help articles from Google Drive.
Order Notification Assistant
Type: Webhook
Roles: Admin, Employee
Connections: Shopify, QuickBooks
Monitors Shopify orders and automatically creates invoices in QuickBooks when a sale is made.
Internal Team Assistant
Type: Email
Roles: Admin, Employee
Connections: Google Calendar, Google Drive
Helps team members schedule meetings, find files, and coordinate projects.
How Assistants Learn
TNTCLE assistants use AI to understand context and improve over time:
- Natural Language Processing — Understands customer intent
- Context Awareness — Remembers previous conversations
- Integration Intelligence — Knows which tool to use for each task
- Continuous Learning — Improves based on feedback
Managing Your Assistants
From the Admin → Assistants page, you can:
- View all assistants and their status
- Edit assistant configuration
- Enable/disable assistants
- Monitor usage and performance
- Delete assistants you no longer need
Next Steps