Build and improve Skills

Improve a Skill by making its purpose clear, giving it a practical playbook, and adding only the resources needed to complete the work.

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Focus on the four essentials

A useful Skill has:

• A clear name people can recognize
• A specific description that helps Cassidy know when the Skill applies
• Practical instructions for completing the work
• Relevant resources such as examples, templates, or company sources

Optional tools can make a Skill more powerful, but they cannot compensate for an unclear playbook.

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Write a clear name and description

Use a name that describes the work, such as Customer Follow-up Emails or Security Questionnaire Responses. The description should explain:

• What requests the Skill handles
• Who or what the work is for
• What result it produces
• Important situations where it should not be used

Specific description:

Drafts customer follow-up emails from call notes using our approved tone, structure, and commitment rules.

Too broad:

Helps with emails.

A broad description can make Cassidy select the Skill for unrelated requests. A specific description improves both discovery and automatic selection.

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Write useful instructions

Instructions are the playbook an Agent follows after Cassidy selects the Skill. Use this structure as a starting point:

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Purpose

State the result the Skill should help produce.

Help sales and customer success teams write accurate, concise follow-up emails after customer conversations.

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When to use

Describe the requests and information that make the Skill relevant.

Use this Skill when someone asks to draft or revise a customer follow-up email using call notes, meeting notes, or a summary.

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Required information

List what the Agent needs before it can do the work.

Identify the customer goal, agreed next steps, owners, and dates. Ask the user when required information is missing.

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Steps

Write the process in the order the Agent should follow it.

1. Review the provided notes.
2. Separate confirmed facts from assumptions.
3. Identify the customer’s goal and agreed next steps.
4. Draft the email using the approved structure.
5. Check every commitment against the source notes.

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Output requirements

Describe the expected format, tone, length, and quality checks.

Use a warm, direct tone. Keep the email under 250 words. End with a clear owner and next step.

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Boundaries and review

State what the Agent must not do and when a person should review the result.

Never invent pricing, dates, product capabilities, or commitments. Ask the sender to review any commitment before including it.

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Examples

Provide representative inputs and strong outputs when quality or formatting is difficult to explain with rules alone.

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Add the right supporting material

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Files

Add Skill files when the resource should travel with the Skill, such as:

• Templates
• Approved examples
• Style guides
• Scripts
• Presentations or spreadsheets

Use descriptive names and folders so the Agent can identify each resource. Explain in the instructions when and how to use important files.

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Knowledge Base sources

Reference Knowledge Base items when the Skill needs approved information that may change over time. For example:

• Put the rule “Never invent a security commitment” in the Skill instructions.
• Reference current security policies and product documentation from the Knowledge Base.

People using the Skill must also be able to access its referenced Knowledge Base sources.

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Add optional tools only when needed

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Capabilities

Add a Capability when the Skill needs an extra Cassidy ability, such as current web research, browser interaction, image creation, or interactive outputs. Explain in the instructions when the Agent should use the Capability.

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Connectors

Add a Connector when the Skill needs to read or update information in a supported business application. Connectors use each person’s authentication. Adding one to a Skill does not grant anyone access to the external application, and Cassidy asks for approval before each action.

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Workflows

Add a published Workflow with a Manual trigger when the Skill should run a defined multi-step process. Explain:

• When to run the Workflow
• Which information to collect first
• How to use the result

People using the Skill must also have access to the selected Workflow.

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Internal or unsupported APIs

When no Connector or official MCP server exists, a technical builder can give a Skill controlled access to an API without exposing its credential. See Securely connecting to APIs.

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Edit a Skill

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Edit in the Skill editor

Changes to the current draft save automatically. They do not affect the published Skill until you publish.

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Propose changes in chat

While using a Skill, describe the change you want. Cassidy can create a Draft Skill Changes proposal for you to review. An Agent cannot publish a Skill. A person with edit access must review and publish the proposed changes.

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Test the Skill

Test with the people, information, and edge cases the Skill will encounter.

• Primary task: Ask for the main result and verify that the Skill follows the expected process and format.
• Missing information: Remove an important input and confirm the Agent asks for it instead of guessing.
• Difficult case: Try a sensitive or unusual request and confirm the Skill follows its boundaries and escalation rules.
• Irrelevant request: Ask a nearby but unrelated question and confirm Cassidy does not force the Skill.
• Resource access: Test with a typical end user and confirm they can access the referenced Knowledge Base sources, Workflows, files, and external applications.
• Tool behavior: Confirm Connectors request authentication and approval correctly, and that selected Workflows receive the right information.

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Other ways to create a Skill

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Publish your improvements

Publishing makes the current draft the version that people, Agents, and Workflow AI actions use. Before publishing:

• Review the complete change summary
• Test the primary task and important boundaries
• Test with a representative end user
• Confirm the intended audience can access referenced resources

See Manage Skill versions for checkpoints, publishing, comparison, and restore behavior.

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Next steps