Ema Skills¶

Use domain skills to teach Ema how to approach recurring tasks in your organization. A skill describes the steps for a specific task, such as preparing a purchase request or reviewing a form against your design standards. This page explains the concept and shows how to create, use, and maintain a skill for your domain.

What Is a Skill?¶

A skill is a named set of task instructions that Ema loads when needed. Think of it as a short procedure that a colleague can follow: when to use it, what information to collect, which steps to take, and what result to produce.

For example, a purchase preparation skill can tell Ema to ask for the cost center before collecting item details. Without the skill, you would need to repeat those instructions in each request. With the skill, the domain administrator defines the procedure once, and users can ask Ema to use it.

A skill provides guidance to the AI assistant. It is not a script, a new tool, or an executable workflow. If a rule must be enforced for every transaction, implement it through the appropriate process, form validation, or permission configuration. A skill does not replace those controls.

Skills and General Instructions¶

Choose where to put guidance according to when it should apply:

General instructions are included automatically when enabled and matched to the conversation context. A skill's full task instructions are loaded only when that skill is selected. Existing general instructions are not automatically converted into skills.

How Ema Selects a Skill¶

Ema initially sees the available skill command names, display names, and descriptions. It can choose a relevant skill from those summaries and load its full task instructions. A clear description helps Ema decide when to use the skill.

Users can also select a skill explicitly by starting their message with its command:

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/purchase-request Prepare a request for two office monitors.

The command selects the procedure; the rest of the message describes the task. Write both so Ema has a concrete goal. The selected skill is loaded before Ema starts responding to that request.

Emakin also supplies internal skills for built-in application procedures. These remain available to Ema in the background and are not listed in the user's skill picker. Domain skills add organization-specific guidance; they do not edit or replace internal skills.

Create Your First Skill¶

You need access to Edit Domain, which requires the domain_write scope. The settings apply to the current domain. Ema must also be available to the account that will test the skill. See Edit Domain for AI configuration.

1. Open Edit Domain → AI → Skills.
2. Select Add Assistant Skill.
3. Enter the name, command name, description, context, and task instructions. You can use the purchase preparation example below as a starting point.
4. Leave Enabled selected to make the skill available. New entries are enabled and use User context by default.
5. Select Save on the Edit Domain form.
6. Open Ema in the matching context. Type / at the start of the message, select the skill, and write a test request.
7. Send the message and review both the skill loading result in Ema's progress card and the response. Check that Ema collects the information and produces the result specified by your instructions.

Skill Fields¶

Name, Command Name, Description, Context, and Task Instructions are required in the editor. The form supports up to 16 skills. Keep instructions concise: assistant token budgets can restrict the catalog or loaded instructions even when the form's character limits are satisfied.

Name is the readable label; Command Name is how the skill is invoked. Renaming the display name does not rename the command. Use a distinct command name for each skill in the same context and avoid names used by internal skills. Conflicting command names can prevent the skill catalog from loading.

Skill names, descriptions, and instructions appear as authored. Write them in the language appropriate for the domain's users; they are not automatically translated with the interface labels.

Write Useful Task Instructions¶

Start with one task and one expected result. A skill that tries to cover every departmental activity is harder to select and follow than a focused procedure.

• Describe the steps in their intended order.
• State what information is required and what Ema should ask when it is missing.
• Make conditional rules explicit instead of referring to an unspecified policy.
• Describe the expected output, such as a summary, checklist, or proposed form layout.
• Distinguish preparing information from performing an action. State whether the task should stop at a proposal.
• Include only the procedure and necessary reference details. Avoid secrets and unnecessary personal information.

For example, this instruction leaves too much to interpretation:

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Handle purchases correctly and follow company policy.

A more useful version gives Ema observable steps and a clear stopping point:

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Prepare a purchase request summary.
1. Ask for the cost center if it is missing.
2. Collect the item description, quantity, estimated price, and business justification.
3. For equipment purchases, ask whether a supplier quotation is available.
4. List missing information rather than inventing values.
5. Present a summary for the user to review. Do not submit the request.

Test with incomplete information as well as a complete request. The goal is to check how Ema asks questions and follows the procedure, not just whether the skill loads.

Example: Purchase Request Preparation¶

This example prepares information for review; it does not submit a purchase or configure a procurement workflow. Adapt the document requirement to your organization's actual policy.

Task Instructions:

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Help the user prepare a purchase request for review.
1. Determine the cost center before collecting item details. Ask if it is missing.
2. Collect the item description, category, quantity, estimated unit price,
   required delivery date, and business justification.
3. For equipment purchases, ask for a supplier quotation. If it is unavailable,
   mark it as missing; do not invent its contents.
4. Summarize the request and list missing information or documents separately.
5. Ask the user to review the summary. Do not submit a purchase request.

Example message:

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/purchase-request I need two office monitors for the support team next month.

What to check: Ema should ask for the missing cost center before moving on to item details. It should ask about the quotation for this equipment purchase and produce a review summary without submitting a request.

Example: Form Design Standard¶

This example guides a developer's design review. It does not install a form template or enforce a validation rule.

Task Instructions:

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Review or propose a process form using this design standard.
1. Identify the target process, form, and task. Ask if the target is unclear.
2. Group fields into Request Details, Supporting Documents, and Review sections
   where those sections are relevant to the task.
3. Use concise field labels and identify which fields should be required.
4. Preserve existing field bindings and business rules when proposing a layout change.
5. Explain the proposed sections, required fields, and any unresolved questions.
6. Start with a proposal. Apply changes only when the user's request authorizes them
   and the current assistant mode permits changes.

Example message on a process-definition page:

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/form-standard Review the purchase request form and propose a clearer section layout.

What to check: Ema should identify the target form and explain a layout proposal. In Safe Mode, the skill does not enable changes. Review and validate any later authorized changes before using the process in production.

Maintain and Troubleshoot Skills¶

Use the existing row editor in AI → Skills to edit or delete a skill. Clear Enabled to make it unavailable while keeping its definition, then select Save. To restore a disabled skill, select Enabled and save again.

New assistant turns use the current saved definitions. A turn already in progress can continue using the definition it loaded, so disabling a skill does not necessarily stop the current request. On a subsequent turn or continuation, Ema rechecks availability and loads the current instructions for retained skill references. Deleted, disabled, or context-incompatible skills no longer provide active guidance. Past loading records do not mean a skill is currently active.

Changing Command Name makes the new command effective on subsequent turns. The old command is not kept as an alias.

Skills guide Ema within the user's existing access and application rules. Selecting a skill does not grant access to another domain, add tools, authorize changes, or turn off Safe Mode. Review Ema's output and keep mandatory business controls in the workflow itself.

Related Pages¶

• Edit Domain
• Security and Permissions
• Ema for Everyday Work
• Ema for Process Developers