What is a helper?
A helper is a saved set of instructions that tells Margaret how to handle a specific task. You write the instructions once — what the task is, what information you'll give it, and what you want back — and Margaret remembers them every time you use it.
Think of it like briefing a very capable colleague. Instead of explaining what you need from scratch every time, you do it once properly, save it, and from then on you just hand them the material and they get on with it.
What does a helper actually contain?
Every helper is made up of sections:
Purpose — What this helper does and what it produces. A sentence or two.
When to use — The situations where you'd reach for this helper. Helps you (and Margaret) stay clear on what it's for.
Inputs required — The information you'll provide each time you use it. These become a form when you run the helper, so you don't have to remember what to include.
Process — How Margaret should think through the task. This is where the real value lives — the questions it should ask itself, the steps it should follow, the things it should pay attention to.
Output format — The shape of what comes back. Sections, headings, a specific structure. Margaret will always produce output in this format.
What can a helper do?
Anything that involves taking some input and producing written output. Some examples:
- Turn messy meeting notes into a clean summary with action points
- Write a client update email from bullet-point notes
- Analyse a brief and identify what's missing or unclear
- Draft a proposal structure from a one-paragraph description
- Summarise a long document into three key points
- Review a piece of writing and give specific, structured feedback
If you find yourself doing the same kind of thinking or writing task more than a few times a week, it's probably worth making a helper for it.
What a helper is not
A helper is not a chatbot. It doesn't have an ongoing conversation with you — it takes a specific input, runs it through its instructions, and produces an output. That's it. If you want to refine or improve the helper itself, you can use the Tune up feature.
A helper is also not magic. The quality of what it produces depends on the quality of the instructions you give it. A vague Purpose and no Process will give you vague results. Specific instructions with a clear Process will give you consistent, useful output.
Creating your first helper
The quickest way is to describe a task you spend time on and let Margaret draft a helper for you. Go to the dashboard and use the guided setup — type something like "I spend ages writing client update emails every Friday" and Margaret will produce a starting point you can review and adjust.
If you'd rather start from scratch, click "Set it up myself" and work through the five-step setup.
Either way, you can edit any section at any time — click the Definition panel on any helper to see its instructions, and click the edit icon on any section to change it directly.