How to use a skill in a prompt

You can put a skill in scope for your chat in two ways: by @mentioning it in the prompt bar, or by letting Storytell automatically activate a skill when your request matches its purpose.

To @mention a skill:

1. In the chat, click in the prompt input bar (where you type your message).

2. Type @. The suggestion list appears with collections, files, labels, concepts—and Skills.

3. Type to search by skill name or description, or scroll to the Skills section.

4. Click the skill you want. A skill pill (e.g. Summarizer, Fact Checker) is inserted into your prompt.

5. Finish your message and send. Storytell will apply that skill’s instructions when answering.

Your choice applies to that message. For the next message, you can @mention the same or a different skill, or omit a skill and let Storytell decide.

Overview

Skills are reusable instruction sets that shape how Storytell approaches specific tasks. When a skill is in scope, its instructions are added to the context Storytell uses to answer you—so you get consistent behavior for summarization, fact-checking, research, writing, and more.

Benefits:

• Consistency — The same skill gives you the same style and process every time (e.g. structured summaries, cited claims).

• Control — You choose which skills are active by @mentioning them or by writing prompts that trigger them.

• Customization — Create your own skills in chat with the Skill Creator and save them to your user or project.

• Clarity — When Storytell uses a skill, you can see it in the response (e.g. a Skills block showing which skill was used).

Skills work alongside your knowledge base (collections, labels, and files), tools (web search, knowledge base, etc.), and Prompt Library. You combine a skill with your chosen scope and tools in Powering This Chat to get the behavior you want.

What are Skills?

A Skill has:

• Name — A unique identifier (e.g. summarizer, fact-checker) used when you @mention it or when Storytell loads it.

• Display name — The label you see in the UI (e.g. “Summarizer”, “Fact Checker”).

• Description — A short summary of what the skill does and when it should be used. Storytell uses this to decide whether to activate the skill automatically.

• Content — The actual instructions (workflow, criteria, format) that are injected into context when the skill is active.

• Scope — Who can see and use it: system (everyone, built-in), project (your project), or user (just you).

• Category — Skill (task-focused instructions) or Persona (role or style).

Skills are either system (built-in and available to all users), project (created and saved for a project), or user (created and saved for your account). Only skills that are enabled for you appear in the @mention list and can be auto-activated.

Skill scopes: system, project, and user

Using Skills in chat

@mention a skill

When you type @ in the prompt bar, you can mention files, collections, labels, concepts—and Skills. The list shows skills that are available and enabled for you, with their display name and description. Selecting one inserts a skill pill into your prompt; that skill is then in scope for that message.

Automatic activation

Storytell also decides when to use a skill based on your message. Each skill has a description that acts as a trigger: if your request matches (e.g. “summarize this”, “check these facts”), Storytell can load that skill automatically.

You don’t have to @mention it. When a skill is used, the response can show a Skills block so you see which skill was applied.

How to create your own Skills

Creating a custom skill with the Skill Creator

You can create and save custom skills by chatting with Storytell. The Skill Creator is a built-in skill that helps you design skills. When you ask to create or edit a skill (e.g. “Create a skill that …”), Storytell may activate the Skill Creator and then show you a Crafter card with the skill’s name, description, content, and scope options.

To create a custom skill:

1. Open a chat in the project where you want the skill (or where you’re allowed to create user skills).

2. In the prompt bar, describe what you want the skill to do. For example: “Create a skill that turns meeting notes into bullet-point action items” or “I need a skill that reviews contracts for missing clauses.”

3. Send the message. Storytell (using the Skill Creator) will draft the skill and show a Crafter card with a preview.

4. On the card, review Name, Display name, Description, and Content. Use Save to User or Save to Project to save the skill (see Saving a skill from the Crafter card).

5. After saving, the skill appears in your @ list and can be used in this and other chats (depending on scope).

You can refine the skill in follow-up messages (e.g. “Make the summary always include a TL;DR” or “Add a step to cite sources”). When the design is updated, the Crafter card updates; save again if you want to persist the changes.

Saving a skill from the Crafter card

When the Skill Creator shows a Crafter card:

1. Review the name, display name, description, and content in the card.

2. Click Save to User to save the skill to your account (only you can use it), or Save to Project to save it to the current project (others in the project can use it).
   

   

3. If the skill is already saved to one scope, the card may show that scope as saved; you can still save to the other scope if both are available.

4. Optionally use Download to export the skill definition for backup or reuse.

After saving, the skill is stored and will appear in the @ mention list (and in automatic activation) according to its scope and your preferences.

Create from scratch on the Skills page

You can create a skill without using chat by filling out a form on the Skills page. This is useful when you already know exactly what you want the skill to do and prefer to write the instructions yourself.

To create a skill from scratch:

1. Go to the Skills page (e.g. from the project sidebar or Powering This Chat → Skills tab, depending on your app).
   

   

2. Click Create (or Create skill). The create-skill modal opens.
   

   

3. Fill in:

   • Display name — The name shown in the UI (e.g. “Meeting action items”).

   • Description — A short summary of what the skill does and when it should be used. Storytell uses this for automatic activation.

   • Category — Skill (task-focused) or Persona (role or style).

   • Scope — User (only you) or Project (everyone in the project).

   • Content — The instruction body (workflow, criteria, format) in markdown.
     

     

4. Click the save button. The skill is created and appears in your list and in the @ mention picker.

You can edit or delete it later from the Skills page. If you’d rather have AI draft the content, open the same Create Skill modal and use Generate instead—see Generate from the Create Skill modal.

Generate from the Create Skill modal

You can have Storytell generate the skill’s instruction content from the Skills page without opening a chat. Open the Create Skill modal, enter a Display name and optional Description, then click Generate. Storytell fills in the Content field with AI-generated instructions; you can edit the result and save.

To create a skill using Generate:

1. Go to the Skills page (e.g. from the project sidebar or Powering This Chat → Skills tab).
   

   

2. Click Create (or Create skill). The Create Skill modal opens.
   

   

3. Enter a Display name (required). This is the name shown in the UI (e.g. “Meeting action items”, “Contract clause checker”).

   • Optionally enter a Description — a short summary of what the skill does and when it should be used. The more specific you are, the better the generated content.
     

     

4. Next to the Content label, click Generate. Storytell uses the display name and description to generate the instruction body. The content appears in the editor; you can edit it before saving.
   

   

5. Choose Category (Skill or Persona) and Scope (User or Project), then click the save button. The skill is created and appears in your list and in the @ mention picker.

You can run Generate again to replace the content if you want a different draft, or edit the text directly. Generate is disabled until you enter a display name.

User vs Project scope

• User — The skill is stored on your account. Only you see it and can use it, in any project you’re in.

• Project — The skill is stored on the project. Everyone with access to the project can see and use it (subject to permissions).

You can save the same skill to both user and project from the Crafter card if you want a personal copy and a shared project copy.

Built-in Skills

Storytell ships with several system skills that you can use or disable. Examples (names and availability may vary by plan and region):

• Summarizer — Creates concise, structured summaries of content (e.g. TL;DR, bullet points, key takeaways).

• Fact Checker — Validates claims, cites sources, and flags uncertainty.

• Skill Creator — Helps you create and edit skills; shows the Crafter card so you can save to user or project.

• Editor — Focuses on editing and improving text (clarity, structure, style).

• Deep Researcher — Uses a dedicated research flow for multi-source, cited research.

• Content Writer, Data Analyst, Financial Analyst, Legal Advisor, Contract Reviewer, Meeting Prep, Sales Enablement, and others — Domain-focused instructions for common tasks.

Use @ in the prompt bar to see the full list of skills available to you (system, project, and user). The list is filtered by what’s enabled and by your current project.