You ask an AI assistant to prepare a client brief. It gets close, but you have to explain the format, remind it to check the facts and tell it which actions need your approval. At the next meeting, you start again.
That repeated explanation is useful knowledge about how you work. Giving it a clear structure makes it easier to reuse, review and improve.
The Hili Skill Builder is a free tool for turning that knowledge into reusable AI instructions. It guides you through creating a skill, lets you combine skills into an agent profile, and gives you files to take into your chosen assistant. No account or API key is needed to use the builder.
Try the Hili Skill Builder
Use the interactive builder below, or open the Hili Skill Builder in a separate tab.
Build your first reusable AI skill
Work through the wizard below. For more space, open the builder in a new tab.
Your work is saved in this browser when storage is available. Download a backup before leaving. Embedded and separate-tab storage may differ by browser. If the builder does not appear or downloads do not work, use it in a separate tab.
What is an AI skill?
A skill describes how an assistant should handle a particular kind of task: when to use it, what information it needs, the steps to follow and what a good result looks like.
For a small business, that could mean preparing a meeting brief, checking a project update against agreed milestones, or drafting an SOP from supplied process notes.
The useful part is making your working method explicit. What should the assistant check? What must it ask you? What should it leave for someone else? Those decisions matter as much as the wording of the final output.
Create your first skill in four steps
The builder walks you through four stages while showing a live preview of your instruction file.
- Purpose: name the skill, explain when it should be used, define the output and identify what it should avoid.
- Workflow: list the information it needs, put the working steps in order and identify any tools or connections required.
- Boundaries: add quality checks, examples of requests it should handle and examples it should leave to other skills.
- Review: check the completeness prompts, then save the skill in your browser or download it as a Markdown file or ZIP.
Start with one task you already understand well. A narrow skill is easier to test because you can recognise when it produces a useful result.
A practical example: preparing for a client meeting
Imagine you regularly pull together meeting notes, open actions and questions before speaking to a client. You could use the following outline to create a Client meeting brief skill.
| Builder field | Example to enter |
|---|---|
| Purpose | Prepare a concise brief before a client meeting using supplied notes. |
| Inputs | Meeting objective, attendees, recent notes, open actions and known concerns. |
| Output | A one-page brief with context, talking points, questions, risks and proposed next steps. |
| Workflow | Check the inputs; flag gaps; identify decisions needed; prioritise discussion points; draft the brief; check factual claims. |
| Boundaries | Do not invent client facts, promise dates or contact the client. |
| Quality check | Separate confirmed information from assumptions and make unanswered questions visible. |
This example is a starting point. Add the details that reflect your work, such as which project records to consult or how you want overdue actions presented.
Then test it with a real set of non-confidential notes and a second set with missing information. Check whether the assistant asks useful questions and stays within the boundaries you set.
Combine skills into an agent profile
Once you have created or imported skills, the Compose an agent view lets you give a profile a job, select its skills, arrange their order and describe what each stage should hand to the next.
For example, a project support profile could combine a meeting brief skill, an action-list skill and a progress-report skill. The handoff might carry agreed decisions and open questions into the next stage.
The exported bundle contains an agent instruction file, setup guidance, a manifest and the selected skill folders. It provides a workflow for an assistant to follow. Running that workflow, connecting accounts and authorising actions happen in the assistant platform you use.
Keep your files and test the results
The builder assembles your answers into templates in your browser. It does not use an AI model to generate the instructions or run the resulting agent.
Drafts and saved skills use browser storage. Download a backup before clearing site data, changing devices or relying on a private browsing session. Hosting still involves ordinary page requests; browser storage is not a substitute for secure handling of confidential information.
You can also import existing Markdown skill files or ZIP bundles. Read imported instructions and supporting files before using them. Keep passwords, API keys and confidential client information out of anything you share.
Completeness checks help identify missing sections. You still need to test the skill in your chosen assistant. Follow its supported installation process and check that it actually reads and follows the files; attaching a file alone does not guarantee activation.
Start with one repeated task
Choose something you explain more than once: the format of a client brief, the checks in a weekly report or the steps for documenting a process. Build the skill, try it, and adjust it when the output exposes a gap.
Open the free Hili Skill Builder.
If you need help deciding where AI fits into your operations, Hili Consulting can help you map the work, clarify responsibilities and identify practical improvements. Book a free 30-minute conversation.
