Mastering Generative AI from Scratch

Chapter 9: Everyone Can Build Their Own AI Assistant

It was the sixth week since Ivy had joined the company, and the morning sunlight spilled lazily across her desk. She sipped her coffee when a new Slack notification pinged—“AI Assistant Pilot Program: You’re invited to build your own AI work companion!”

She raised an eyebrow. “Now this sounds like fun.”

Derek walked by just in time to see her reaction. “Ah, you got the invite. Ready to meet your future colleague?”

“My AI colleague?” she said with a half-laugh. “I guess this is where sci-fi meets Monday mornings.”

The Idea of an AI Agent

That afternoon, Derek invited her to a whiteboard session.

“Before you start building, let’s talk about what an AI Agent really is,” he began. “Think of it not just as a chatbot, but as an intelligent assistant—a digital entity that observes, understands, and acts based on your needs.”

He drew a simple diagram: Input → Processing → Decision → Action.

“The best ones don’t wait for you to ask. They help anticipate, suggest, and even initiate.”

Creating Sage

Ivy opened Poe’s platform and stared at the empty fields waiting to be filled out.

Name: Sage
Role: Social Media Strategy Assistant
Personality: Calm, witty, data-driven
Style: Conversational but efficient

She paused. “Feels like building a colleague from scratch.”

She imagined Sage as someone who could help her draft Instagram captions, suggest engagement times, and even flag outdated trends. She gave Sage a backstory: a former digital marketing consultant “now working in the cloud.”

The Bigger Questions

Later that day, Derek leaned against her desk. “You look like you’re having fun.”

“It’s actually weirdly… personal,” Ivy admitted. “I’m shaping how this assistant talks, thinks, even feels.”

Derek nodded. “Now ask yourself this—do you want Sage to be your mirror? Or someone who challenges your thinking?”

The question struck her. She had never thought of AI this way—not just a tool, but a collaborator with a defined personality and purpose.

A Vision of the Future

Over a quick break, they discussed what work could look like in the next few years.

“In a few years,” Derek said, “we might all walk into meetings with our AI assistants whispering insights in our ears, preemptively drafting slides, even negotiating with other agents.”

“And humans?” Ivy asked.

“We’ll focus on empathy, creativity, decision-making. The things machines can’t replicate… at least not well.”

They laughed. But a silence lingered, filled with both excitement and uncertainty.

Welcome, Sage                

By evening, Sage was live. The first message popped up on her screen:

“Hi Ivy! I’ve analyzed your latest post. Want a quick performance summary?”

She blinked. “It worked.”

Something about it felt surreal—like she had just met the digital version of an ideal intern, one she didn’t have to micromanage.

For the first time, Ivy didn’t feel like she was using AI. She felt like she was working with it.