Manage skills
Skills give Optimizely Opal additional context about how to behave and when to run. Opal evaluates all available skills and determines which ones apply to the current task. Opal can apply multiple skills to a single action, assessing all applicable skills to produce output that matches your prompt.
Access skills
To access skills in Opal, complete the following steps:
- Log in to Optimizely.
- Select your organization.
- Click Opal.
- Go to Context > Skills.
Create skills
Import and export skills
To back up a skill or move it to another organization, see Import and export skills.
Modify skills
Complete the steps in the Access skills section to open the Skills tab. Then open the skill you want to edit using one of the following methods:
- Click the skill name.
- Click More (...) > Edit.
When updating a skill, modify any of the following fields:
- Name – A short, descriptive label that identifies the skill.
- Active – Whether the skill is on or off.
- Shortcut – A keyword you can use to call this skill from Optimizely Opal Chat by entering /.
- Who is this skill for? – Whether the skill is an organization skill or a personal skill. See Switch a skill between personal and organization.
- Core Skill – The behavioral prompt Optimizely Opal uses to generate content.
- When to use – Specifies whether this skill triggers by keyword and intent matching or when specific tools are used.
- Where to use – The Optimizely product and instance where Opal should use the skill.
Teammates with the Add and edit organization skills permission receive a notification when you modify an organization skill. You do not receive a notification for skills you update. See Notifications overview.
Best practices for modifying skills
When modifying skills, adhere to the following best practices:
- Preserve purpose – Avoid removing a core structure unless you are replacing it with an equivalent. For example, if the skill uses a table or list format to define platform-specific rules, keep that structure.
- Be explicit and actionable – Use clear, imperative language. Tell Opal what to do, not just what to consider.
- Keep platform logic intact – Maintain conditional logic if the skill is platform-specific (such as Instagram or LinkedIn). Remove it only if your content use case is limited to a single channel.
- Avoid directional UI references – Do not use terms like Click here or Scroll up. Instead, use context-aware phrasing like Select a post type.
Switch a skill between personal and organization
Opal administrators can change a skill type without rebuilding the skill. For example, promote a personal skill that performs well to an organization skill so your whole team uses it.
To switch a skill type, complete the steps in the Modify skills section to open the skill. Then select Personal or Organization for Who is this skill for?
If the shortcut handle is already in use, Opal appends -personal or -org to prevent a conflict.
Only administrators can change a skill type.
Use Opal to help modify skills
If you need help with your updates, ask Opal to make them for you. While on the edit skills page, complete the following steps:
- Click Ask Opal.
- Enter a prompt requesting your changes. For example, enter Help me update this skill so that its when to use specifies it should be used whenever creating PowerPoint presentations. Opal uses the skills builder to generate an action card with your updates.
- Review the changes and update any fields.
- Click Update to make the updates.
Delete skills
Delete skills from two locations in Opal, as described in the following sections.
Teammates with the Add and edit organization skills permission receive a notification when you delete an organization skill. You do not receive a notification for skills you delete. See Notifications overview.
Delete from the Skills page
To delete a skill from the Skills page, complete the steps in the Access skills section, then complete the following:
- Find the skill you want to delete.
- Click More (...) > Delete.
- Click Delete on the confirmation page.
Delete from the skills details page
To delete a skill from the Edit Skills page, complete the steps in the Access skills and Modify skills sections. Then, click More (...) > Delete Skill.
Click Delete on the confirmation page.
Delete multiple skills
Delete several skills in one action to keep your skills list organized.
- Select the checkbox for each skill you want to delete.
- Click Delete.
- Click Delete on the confirmation page.
To select every skill on the page, select the checkbox in the table header. Delete shows the number of skills you selected.
Note
If you use Opti ID, administrators can turn off generative AI in the Opti ID Admin Center. See Turn generative AI off across Optimizely applicationsTurn generative AI off across Optimizely applications.