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.

You can think of a Skill as a playbook for repeat work. It helps you:

• Standardize how tasks are completed.

• Reduce setup time in every new chat.

• Improve quality across teammates and projects.

• Keep domain-specific best practices close to execution.

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.

View your Skills

In the sidebar, click on Skills to open the Skills page

Here, you can view all your available skills in your Project.

Built-in Skills

Chief includes built-in Skills to help you get started quickly with common workflows.

These built-in Skills are useful when you want immediate guidance without setting up custom instructions first. They can also serve as examples when you decide to build your own team-specific Skill patterns.

Use built-in Skills when you need:

• A fast starting point for common task types.

• A consistent baseline before customizing workflows.

• A reference model for structure and instruction style.

Create your own Skill with this step-by-step guide: Create and manage Skills

Using Skills

@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.

To enable or disable a Skill, make sure the skill is toggled ON

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.