# Assistants overview (/assistants)



An assistant is a single chat experience that you shape from top to bottom: its
name, what it knows, how it replies, when it escalates, how it looks, and where it
appears. You do all of this in the assistant editor.

## The setup sections [#the-setup-sections]

The editor groups settings into sections on the left. The sections you will use
most are:

* **General** covers the assistant's identity, its welcome message, starter
  buttons, and its answering style. See
  [General settings](/assistants/general-settings).
* **Knowledge** is where you add the sources the assistant answers from. See
  [Knowledge](/knowledge).
* **Flows** is where you define the rules that control how the assistant responds.
  See [Flows](/flows).
* **Help Desks** is where you choose which escalation destinations this assistant
  offers. See [Connect a help desk](/help-desks/connect-to-an-assistant).
* **Style** and the color options in General control the widget's appearance. See
  [Appearance](/assistants/appearance).
* **Publish** gives you the snippet to embed the assistant. See
  [Publishing](/publishing).

## The live preview [#the-live-preview]

Every change you make is reflected in the preview panel on the right. Use it to
check the welcome message, try the starter buttons, and confirm the colors before
you publish. The preview behaves like the real widget, so it is the fastest way
to validate your work.

## A recommended order [#a-recommended-order]

If you are configuring an assistant for the first time, this order works well:

1. Set the identity and welcome message in **General**.
2. Add **Knowledge** so the assistant has something to answer from.
3. Test in the preview by asking a few real questions.
4. Add **Flows** for any message types that need special handling.
5. Set up **Help Desks** for escalation.
6. Adjust **Style**.
7. Go to **Publish** and embed the widget.