Start with the job, not the label
Suppose you want to prepare for tomorrow. A chat-only assistant can suggest a schedule from details you type. An assistant connected to your calendar can use your existing commitments. An agent with task tools may also record the tasks you choose. These are different levels of access, even when the conversation looks the same.
The boundary is not absolute: a chat app can include tools, and an agent can spend much of its time talking. Ask which integrations and actions are available in the version you can use today.
Compare three kinds of result
- An answer: a suggested plan, explanation or draft. You decide what to do with it.
- An artifact: a report, table or file you can open and inspect. Check the content and sources before relying on it.
- An action: a change in another system, such as creating a task. Look for a confirmation and verify the change in the destination.
A confident sentence saying a task is done is not the same as a saved task. Try one small, reversible job first and check both sides.
The controls worth checking
Before connecting an account, find out what the assistant can read and change. Check whether you can limit access, review consequential actions, stop a running task, and revoke the connection. For scheduled work, ask what happens if an integration fails or information is missing.
An activity history should tell you what was attempted and what succeeded. That is more useful than a general promise that the agent works in the background.
How this maps to ELO
ELO is the personal AI in Life OS. Its documented features include conversations, in-app actions, routines and computer tasks. Start with the ELO feature guide, which separates those capabilities, and read how scheduled routines work.
Use the app's available controls and permissions for each feature. Device support, setup and service availability matter; a marketing description does not mean an assistant has access to every account or can perform every job.
A five-minute evaluation
- Pick one task, such as turning three notes into a plan.
- Give only the information needed for that task.
- Ask what the assistant will create or change.
- Inspect the output and any recorded action.
- Check how to undo the change or disconnect the tool.
If that saves you effort without making the result harder to check, expand gradually. For a concrete planning exercise, use our AI daily planner guide.