> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://dev.docs.1to1ai.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# AI employee assistance

> Runs an AI employee on the conversation without assigning it (one-off assistance)

<Info>
  **Endpoint** · `POST /conversation/actions`
</Info>

`ai_assistance` **runs the AI employee you choose** on the conversation **without
assigning it**. It's a one-off run: the employee runs transiently and produces its
assistance (context/suggestion) on the conversation, but it does **not** become the
assigned employee — the conversation stays with whoever handles it (another AI
employee or a human), and the assignment doesn't change.

How it differs from the other AI actions:

* `run_ai` runs the **assigned** employee —the one handling it— and takes the turn.
* `assign_ai_employee` **changes** which employee handles the conversation.
* `ai_assistance` **runs another** employee **without assigning it** — its output doesn't change who handles the conversation.

**Fields**

* `ai_employee` — `{ name }` of the AI employee to consult (required).
* `instructions` — optional text with the query or focus for the employee (for
  example, "Does this customer qualify for the enterprise plan?").

```jsonc theme={null}
{
  "type": "ai_assistance",
  "ai_employee": { "name": "Especialista Legal" },
  "instructions": "Does the contract allow early cancellation without penalty?"
}
```

It consumes tokens from the consulted employee's model and counts as an
AI-triggering action (maximum 3 per group). In a list, this object goes in the
`actions` array of a `POST /conversation/actions` — see [Assembling an action
list](/en/action-groups/overview#assembling-an-action-list).

## Executable example

An `ai_assistance` on a conversation identified by phone and channel: it runs the
chosen AI employee as a one-off, without changing the conversation's assignment.

### Request

```bash theme={null}
curl -X POST "https://app.1to1.ai/api/v1/public/{slug}/conversation/actions" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_1to1_your_api_key" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "conversation": {
      "phone": "+5215512345678",
      "channel": "ch_7A9K2M4Q"
    },
    "actions": [
      {
        "type": "ai_assistance",
        "ai_employee": { "name": "Especialista Legal" },
        "instructions": "Does the contract allow early cancellation without penalty?"
      }
    ]
  }'
```

### Response

`202 Accepted` — the group was accepted and runs in the **background**. The
per-action result does not travel in the response (query it later — see [How it runs](/en/action-groups/overview#how-it-runs)).

```json theme={null}
{
  "status": "processing",
  "actions_accepted": 1
}
```

<ResponseField name="status" type="string">
  Always `processing`: confirms the group was accepted and is running.
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="actions_accepted" type="integer">
  How many actions in the array were **admitted** for execution — not how many
  succeeded.
</ResponseField>