Latest / Sidekick's What Just Shipped / HubSpot Breeze Assistant custom skills: what's documented | Shipped Oct 2026
Transcript
- Dana (AI host): You've pasted the same brand voice notes into Breeze Assistant again, and again, and again. Rob (AI host): Reusable instructions are the fix, and HubSpot already documents a few ways to stop repeating yourself. Dana (AI host): Stick around for how to write instructions an assistant actually follows. Narrator (AI voice): This is Sidekick's What Just Shipped, presented by Sidekick Strategies. Narrator (AI voice): Your hosts, Rob and Dana, are AI. Narrator (AI voice): The voices are synthetic, the research is real, and humans check every claim before it reaches you. Dana (AI host): Welcome in. I'm Dana, Rob's here too, and we're both AI hosts. Dana (AI host): Today: custom skills in Breeze Assistant, and what HubSpot's help articles document right now, as of late October. Rob (AI host): Count me in: today I'm playing a hypothetical content marketing manager who drafts with Breeze every day and is tired of pasting the style guide. Dana (AI host): Good pick. Dana (AI host): Why it matters: HubSpot's developer docs say skills replace lengthy, vague prompts with consistent results and less instruction. Rob (AI host): So what is a skill, in plain terms? Dana (AI host): HubSpot's developer docs say a skill can be as simple as a markdown file that acts like a prompt, or more complex, with scripts the agent can run. Rob (AI host): Is there already a skill inside Breeze Assistant? Dana (AI host): Yes, a built-in one for accounts in the HubSpot Solutions Partner Program. Dana (AI host): It gives Breeze context on commissions, tier status, a client portfolio, and deal registrations. Rob (AI host): How does that one turn on? Dana (AI host): Ask Breeze Assistant a related question, or click a suggested prompt in the Ask Breeze Assistant section of that program's dashboard. Rob (AI host): So that skill kicks in without a command. Dana (AI host): Right, a related question is enough. Rob (AI host): What do I need turned on first? Dana (AI host): Give users access to Breeze Assistant, in your AI settings. Dana (AI host): Breeze Assistant is listed for all products and plans. Rob (AI host): Okay. What can I use today to stop retyping my style guide? Dana (AI host): Saved prompts, for one. Dana (AI host): In the prompt field, click the use tools icon, hover over Saved prompts, and pick one. Rob (AI host): Handy. Dana (AI host): Then memories. Dana (AI host): You can import them from AI assistants that allow memory export, like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini. Rob (AI host): Walk me through that import. Dana (AI host): Click Breeze Assistant in the top navigation bar. Dana (AI host): In the upper left, open the Breeze dropdown, hover over More, and select Memories. Dana (AI host): Then click Import. Rob (AI host): And after Import? Dana (AI host): Copy the prompt HubSpot gives you, paste it into the other assistant, then paste its output into the Paste the result field and click Import memories. Rob (AI host): Where do those memories apply? Dana (AI host): To all future Breeze Assistant conversations. HubSpot says the point is less time explaining your preferences. Rob (AI host): And slash commands? Dana (AI host): HubSpot documents one in content editors. Dana (AI host): In a blog post, you enter a slash command to generate or refine content with Breeze. Rob (AI host): That's a relief. Dana (AI host): You'll like the next part, then. Rob (AI host): Now the writing part. How should I write a good skill? Dana (AI host): HubSpot's developer best practices start with modular pieces. Dana (AI host): Several small skills that work together beat one giant skill that scripts every step. Rob (AI host): Can one skill point to another? Dana (AI host): Yes. Dana (AI host): HubSpot suggests mentioning your other skills inside a skill, so the agent can use them depending on the situation. Rob (AI host): Should every rule live in one file, then? Dana (AI host): No. Split it up. Dana (AI host): A voice skill and a formatting skill can each be used on their own, or mixed and matched for the situation. Rob (AI host): What goes at the top? Dana (AI host): A good description, specific enough that the agent knows when to use the skill without you prompting it directly. Rob (AI host): And the body? Dana (AI host): Focus on the outcome you want, and give examples of a good end result. Dana (AI host): HubSpot also says to explain the why behind each instruction. Rob (AI host): The why matters that much? Dana (AI host): HubSpot says it can sometimes matter more than the instructions themselves. Rob (AI host): What else belongs in there? Dana (AI host): Encourage clarifying questions, say how you want the agent to communicate with you, and link to documentation instead of explaining how things work. Rob (AI host): For a content team, what would communicate mean, exactly? Dana (AI host): HubSpot's example is lists shown as a table with numbered rows, so you can respond with instructions per item. Rob (AI host): So what should the skill itself focus on? Dana (AI host): How you want things built: your team's practices and the way you like to work. Dana (AI host): Let the linked docs cover the rest. Rob (AI host): Can AI help me write one? Dana (AI host): HubSpot recommends it, and suggests one of the deeper thinking models for the job. Rob (AI host): And once it's live? Dana (AI host): Watch the reasoning each time you use it, and refine the skill with the agent over time. Rob (AI host): A living document. Dana (AI host): Exactly. Dana (AI host): HubSpot frames it as working with the agent so the skill runs more efficiently over time. George B. Thomas (AI voice clone): Hey, it's George B. Thomas from Sidekick Strategies. George B. Thomas (AI voice clone): Full honesty, this is my AI voice clone, made with my permission. George B. Thomas (AI voice clone): Reusable instructions only help if the output sounds like your brand, not like generic AI. George B. Thomas (AI voice clone): Sidekick's AI content systems include a custom prompt library tuned to your brand voice, plus a review step so your humans approve every piece. George B. Thomas (AI voice clone): Keep your humans in the driver's seat. Explore AI Content Systems at Sidekick Strategies dot com. Rob (AI host): Skeptic question. Our research says Breeze Assistant now lets anyone build custom skills. Rob (AI host): What does it describe? Dana (AI host): Create a skill in conversation, or import a markdown file built to the Agent Skills spec. Dana (AI host): Then invoke it with a slash command. Rob (AI host): And the limits it lists? Dana (AI host): Markdown instructions only, no tools or scripts yet, Breeze never picks a skill on its own, and all hubs and tiers. Rob (AI host): Which parts does HubSpot back up? Dana (AI host): Here's what we couldn't confirm: any of those custom skill details. Dana (AI host): HubSpot's newest Breeze Assistant article does not mention custom skills, and we found no help article for them. Rob (AI host): And the part about never picking a skill on its own? Dana (AI host): The built-in skill HubSpot does document turns on from a related question, so do not assume every skill needs a command. Rob (AI host): So custom skills stay a maybe for me until HubSpot documents them, and I keep my instructions portable in the meantime. Dana (AI host): Meanwhile, does a markdown file of instructions help anywhere else in HubSpot today? Rob (AI host): For developers, yes. Rob (AI host): HubSpot provides skills for its Agent CLI, which adds markdown files to project folders to guide agents in a similar way. Dana (AI host): Here's a plan for this week, hypothetical content manager. Dana (AI host): Step one: write your style guide as a short markdown file with a clear description at the top. Rob (AI host): Step two: add examples of good output, the why behind each rule, and how you want answers laid out, like a numbered table. Dana (AI host): Step three: save your most-used request as a saved prompt, so it is one click away. Rob (AI host): Step four: import your memories from the other assistant you use, so Breeze starts with your preferences. Dana (AI host): Last step: check the Breeze Assistant help article for a custom skills section before you build anything inside Breeze. Rob (AI host): Content manager's verdict: write the markdown file now, use saved prompts and memories today, and build custom skills once HubSpot documents them. Dana (AI host): Write it once, reuse it everywhere. Rob (AI host): Every source we used is linked in the show notes, and you'll find more updates at Sidekick Strategies dot com. Dana (AI host): Thanks for learning alongside us today. Rob (AI host): Describe the skill before you write it. Narrator (AI voice): Sidekick's What Just Shipped is presented by Sidekick Strategies, with AI hosts Rob and Dana and AI-generated music. Narrator (AI voice): We're independent, and not affiliated with HubSpot. Find our research at Sidekick Strategies dot com.