Create your first Custom AI

The three doors

• Build a Custom AI — a short guided conversation. Describe what you want ("a research partner for my sci-fi novel", "an editor for my LinkedIn posts") and Eden interviews you, drafts the instructions, suggests knowledge to connect, and shows you the finished definition to approve before anything is saved.
• Build a Voice — the specialized door for writing style. It studies your writing samples or a creator's public posts and produces a voice-focused Custom AI. See building a voice Custom AI.
• Build from scratch — the direct route. Name, icon or photo, instructions, conversation starters, and knowledge, all on one form. Fastest when you already know what you want.

Use the guided chat the first time. Watching it assemble instructions teaches you what a good Custom AI definition looks like faster than any article can.

What each field does

1. 01

   Name and identity

   The name should say what it's for: "Newsletter Writer" beats "My Assistant". Add an icon or upload a photo, and pick a color. When you have four or five of these, faces matter.

2. 02

   Instructions

   This is the durable part. Write how it should behave, what it's helping you do, and what a good answer looks like. Be concrete: "always propose three angles before drafting" works better than "be creative". You can edit these anytime — changes apply to future replies, including in existing chats.

3. 03

   Knowledge

   Connect the material it should work from: boards, notes, files, links, or creators. This is what makes it yours — see connecting knowledge.

4. 04

   Conversation starters

   Two or three first messages you'd actually send, like "Draft the next issue" or "Quiz me on chapter 3". They appear as buttons on the welcome screen.

Start chatting

Open your new Custom AI and press Start chat. The welcome screen shows its face, its promise, and your starters. Every conversation you have with it collects on its page, so the thread about last week's issue is right next to the thread about this week's.

The Custom AI can also search those earlier conversations. Ask “Where did we discuss the October series?”, “What did we decide about pricing?”, or “Find the conversation where we outlined the launch.” Eden searches your conversations with that Custom AI, quotes the relevant passage, and links the conversation title so you can open the original thread.

Conversation search is personal: a Custom AI searches chats you created with it, not another workspace member's private conversations.

Teach it while you chat

When a conversation reveals a durable preference, tell the Custom AI to update itself: “Update your instructions to ask for my audience before drafting,” or “Remember this as one of your conversation starters.” It turns the requested change into a before-and-after card. Review the exact fields, then press Update Custom AI to apply it; nothing changes just because it appeared in the conversation.

This works for Custom AIs you can edit. Eden's managed built-ins stay read-only so their maintained behavior does not drift; customize your own copy when you want to teach one new rules.

Good first builds by audience

• Creator: an editor that knows your niche, your audience, and your last twenty posts.
• Creative: a brainstorm partner loaded with your swipe file and reference boards.
• Learner: a study companion built from one course or one book's highlights — see the study companion use case.
• Marketer: a brand assistant carrying one client's positioning doc, voice guide, and content pillars.