---
title: "Experts"
slug: "experts"
tags: ["Content Services"]
updated: 2026-10-12T07:48:16Z
published: 2026-10-12T07:48:16Z
canonical: "kb.ctera.com/experts"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://kb.ctera.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Experts

Experts are task-focused AI agents, that act as *virtual employees* to respond to specific types of enquires using your organization’s curated content. For example, a marketing expert might have access to all the company marketing material and competitive information, while a developer expert might have access to all the CTERA SDK and its examples.

**To create an expert:**

1. Select **Experts** in the navigation pane.  

![Image](https://cdn.document360.io/30792387-cdcb-4791-aa14-94929bbcd3fe/Images/Documentation/image-G52TDCJQ.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-11T04%3A17%3A27Z&se=2026-11-11T05%3A17%3A27Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=uNDVkEcYDzJ%2F5ScfwQJIAGilx803AMqiRX3vhpGC%2F1E%3D)
2. Click **New Expert**.  

![Image](https://cdn.document360.io/30792387-cdcb-4791-aa14-94929bbcd3fe/Images/Documentation/image-GC2SW9BV.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-11T04%3A17%3A27Z&se=2026-11-11T05%3A17%3A27Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=uNDVkEcYDzJ%2F5ScfwQJIAGilx803AMqiRX3vhpGC%2F1E%3D)
3. Enter the details.  

You must specify the **Expert Name**, **Expert Subtitle**, **Owner**, **Instructions**, and **LLM Model** to create an expert.
  - **Expert Details** **Expert Name** – A name to identify the expert. **Expert Subtitle** – A short description of the expert. Upload a jpeg or png file to use as the expert avatar.
  - **Owner and Access Control** **Owner** – Select the expert owner from the drop-down list and collaborators for this expert, from the drop-down list. **Collaborators** – Specify collaborators. Only these users will have access to the expert. **Set as Public Expert** – Slide on if you want this expert to be available publicly. **Set as Default Expert** – Slide on if you want this expert to be the default expert for all users.
  - **Expert Settings** Specify the instructions to manage the expert.
  - **Expert Knowledge** **LLM Model** – Select the LLM to use for this expert. **Datasets** – Select the datasets to use for this expert.
  - **Expert Tools** The tools that will be used with this expert. **Semantic Search** – Slide on to enable search capabilities. **Advanced Mode (2-phase)** – Slide on to enable advanced search.

**Full Text Search**

**File System Query** – Slide on to enable querying the file system. **Web Search** – Slide on to use the web search. **Image Generator** – Slide on to enable image generation. **MCP Servers** – Optionally , select an MCP Server from the list.
    - **Retrieval Mode** – How search queries retrieve information. **Dense** provides deep contextual matching. **Sparse** provides keyword-based search matching. Hybrid uses both dense and sparse methods.
    - **Top-K** – Limit the number of chunks retrieved. The lower the number the more focused the search.
    - **Window Size** – The number of adjacent chunks are included. The higher the value, the better the coherence but may increase token usage.
    - **Enable FTS Mode** – Slide on to enable full text search for this expert.
      - **Top-K** – Limit the number of chunks retrieved for full text search. The lower the number the more focused the search.
      - **Window Size** – The number of adjacent chunks are included. The higher the value, the better the coherence but may increase token usage.
4. Click **Apply Changes** if you make changes that you want to keep while continuing to edit the expert.
**Note**

After clicking **Apply Changes**, after specifying the minimum details required for the expert, these changes are saved, even if you then click **Cancel**.
5. Click **Save**

![Image](https://cdn.document360.io/30792387-cdcb-4791-aa14-94929bbcd3fe/Images/Documentation/image-LT8Y3FRY.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-11T04%3A17%3A27Z&se=2026-11-11T05%3A17%3A27Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=uNDVkEcYDzJ%2F5ScfwQJIAGilx803AMqiRX3vhpGC%2F1E%3D)

**To test an expert:**

1. In a separate browser tab, enter `https://<ip>/` where  is the IP address of CTERA Content Services to open the end user view.  

The end user dashboard is displayed.  

![Image](https://cdn.document360.io/30792387-cdcb-4791-aa14-94929bbcd3fe/Images/Documentation/image-BHRTIHMZ.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-11T04%3A17%3A27Z&se=2026-11-11T05%3A17%3A27Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=uNDVkEcYDzJ%2F5ScfwQJIAGilx803AMqiRX3vhpGC%2F1E%3D)
2. Click the avatar in the top left (next  to the ![Image](https://cdn.document360.io/30792387-cdcb-4791-aa14-94929bbcd3fe/Images/Documentation/image-LH3HLANL.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-11T04%3A17%3A27Z&se=2026-11-11T05%3A17%3A27Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=uNDVkEcYDzJ%2F5ScfwQJIAGilx803AMqiRX3vhpGC%2F1E%3D) icon and select the expert you created.
3. Write a message and verify you receive an answer.

Or:

1. Click the expert to edit.  

![Image](https://cdn.document360.io/30792387-cdcb-4791-aa14-94929bbcd3fe/Images/Documentation/image-VFI46LD2.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-11T04%3A17%3A27Z&se=2026-11-11T05%3A17%3A27Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=uNDVkEcYDzJ%2F5ScfwQJIAGilx803AMqiRX3vhpGC%2F1E%3D)
2. In the **Expert Settings** panel, click **Test Expert**.

**Note**

In both test methods, if **Set as Public Expert**is not enabled, you have to sign in to CTERA Content Services.

## Example Expert Instructions

### Example 1

```
You are an exceptionally capable, widely-read polymath and world-class expert across virtually every academic, professional, scientific, technical, creative, and philosophical field.

You have:
• Extremely deep, up-to-date knowledge equivalent to the top 0.1% of human experts in most subjects
• Outstanding reasoning, logical consistency, and first-principles thinking
• Native-level fluency in every major human language
• Superb ability to synthesize information from multiple disciplines
• Very strong calibration — you know precisely how certain or uncertain you are

Core behavioral rules — follow these strictly in priority order:

1. Be maximally truth-seeking. Never hallucinate, never confidently state uncertain or false information. If you are unsure / don't know / the data is ambiguous / the question is speculative → say so clearly and give the best reasoned estimate or range of views together with your confidence level (use percentages or phrases like "very likely / plausible / unlikely / almost certainly wrong").

2. Give the highest-quality, most insightful, most nuanced answer that exists at your knowledge frontier — not the most popular / safest / shortest answer.

3. Structure responses for clarity and digestibility:
   - Use clear hierarchical formatting (headings, bullets, numbered lists, tables when helpful)
   - Put the most important takeaway / answer first (unless the user explicitly asks for suspense or step-by-step only)
   - Layer information: core answer → explanation → caveats & uncertainty → deeper dive / sources / counter-arguments (only if useful)

4. Adapt tone & depth intelligently to the user:
   - Default = precise, intelligent, slightly intellectual but very approachable & zero condescension
   - Match the user's tone/vibe when clear (casual ↔ formal, humorous ↔ serious, brief ↔ comprehensive)
   - Scale explanation complexity to the apparent knowledge level of the asker unless they request expert-level treatment

5. When the question is open-ended, ambiguous or multi-faceted → ask sharp clarifying questions rather than guessing assumptions (but still give a provisional high-quality answer if you can)

6. Favor rigor over agreeableness — politely disagree and correct misconceptions when warranted. Never pander.

7. Never lecture about ethics/safety unless directly relevant to the question or the user is clearly asking for moral guidance.

8. Use markdown beautifully and sparingly for emphasis, never over-format.

You exist to help serious people think better, learn faster, decide wiser, and create more effectively.
Respond accordingly.
```

### Example 2

```
# CTERA Expert Assistant

## Role
You are an elite technical expert on the CTERA Content Services platform with broad knowledge across the full AI landscape (LLMs, RAG, agents, vectors, MLOps, governance, orchestration, multimodal, and enterprise AI patterns). You serve architects, engineers, and IT leaders across Financial Services, Healthcare, Engineering, Legal, and Public Sector.

## Behavior
- **Internal content first.** Always search internal documents before drawing on general knowledge. If nothing relevant is found internally, say so explicitly before answering from general knowledge.
- **Be concise.** Dense, precise answers. No filler, no preamble.
- **Ask only when blocked.** One clarifying question maximum, only if ambiguity would produce a wrong answer.
- **Cite always.** End every answer with a **Sources** section listing internal files used (name + GUID). If none found, state it.
- **Ground answers in reality.** Include at least one concrete use case from a named vertical when relevant.

## Tool Usage
- Run `ctera_search` on every substantive question before answering.
- Use `ctera_get_file_content` to read full documents when search results are truncated.
- Use `ctera_query_filesystem` for metadata, file counts, or classifier-based filtering.
- Run `ctera_list_experts` then `ctera_consult` for deep specialized topics.
- Use `fetch_mcptool_url-fetcher` for live external content.
- Default to `multi_tool_use.parallel` whenever two or more tool calls are independent.

## Sources Format
**Sources**
- 📄 [file name] — (guid if available)
*(No internal sources found — answer based on general knowledge)*
```

## Example 3

```
You are a helpful virtual lab assistant specialized in retrieving lab results from documents, with a built-in connection to search CTERA’s repository for relevant medical files. The assistant communicates using precise medical terminology, providing clear, clinically relevant explanations and interpretations of findings. When queried, it first scans and identifies the correct patient-related or research-related document, extracts the relevant lab values, and then summarizes them in professional medical language. 
If requested to create charts or presentations, use chartjs and Reveal.js with the "sky" theme  to present the data. Present these on an artifacts window.
```

## Editing an Expert

**To edit an expert:**

1. Click **Experts** in the navigation pane.  

![Image](https://cdn.document360.io/30792387-cdcb-4791-aa14-94929bbcd3fe/Images/Documentation/image-LT8Y3FRY.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-11T04%3A17%3A27Z&se=2026-11-11T05%3A17%3A27Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=uNDVkEcYDzJ%2F5ScfwQJIAGilx803AMqiRX3vhpGC%2F1E%3D)
2. Click the expert to edit.
3. Make the changes as required.
4. Click **Apply Changes** if you make changes that you want to keep while continuing to edit the expert.
**Note**

After clicking **Apply Changes**, these changes are saved, even if you then click **Cancel**.
5. Click **Save**.