# Build a team in a group chat

Make a few bots with different jobs, put them in one group chat, and have them work together on a task.

Canonical page: https://themachine.myapps.ai/docs/desktop/guides/team-in-a-group-chat

In this guide you set up a small team of bots, each with its own job, and
put them in a **group chat**: one conversation with you and several bots.
They see each other's replies and take turns, so a researcher can find the
facts and a writer can turn them into something you can use.

**What you'll end up with:** a group chat with two or three bots that work
together on a job, and a team in your sidebar.

**Time needed:** about 20 minutes, or about 5 if you start from a recipe.

**What you need first:** Machine Desktop installed and signed in.

> **Shortcut: start from a recipe**
> A **recipe** is a ready-made team for a job: several bots with their roles,
> skills, and group chats already set up. Click **+** at the top of the
> sidebar, choose **Recipes**, and search on the **Explore** tab. Or browse the
> [recipe library](/recipes) on the web and click **Add to Machine Desktop**
> (you need version 0.1.38 or later). Review the preview and click **Add
> team**. The bots and their group chats are created for you.
>
> A new team starts switched off in a few ways: skills start off (turn them on
> in each bot's **Skills** settings), routines start paused, and apps aren't
> connected. If you use a recipe, open one of its group chats and skip to the
> last step, **Talk to the team**.

### Make your first bot: a researcher

Press **Ctrl+N** (**⌘N** on Mac), or click **+** at the top of the sidebar
and choose **New Project**. Pick **Researcher**. This makes a bot called
*Scout*, already set up to find, compare, and summarize information. Setting
up a new bot can take a minute or two.

### Make a writer and an editor

Make two more bots, this time from **Blank bot**. For each one:

1. Open its settings: click its avatar or name in the chat header, or
right-click the bot in the sidebar and choose **Edit Profile**.
2. Under **Identity**, set its **Name**, like *Writer* or *Editor*, and a
**Title** like *Writer*.
3. Under **Soul**, write its standing instructions.

Not sure what to write? Send the bot `/setup` and it interviews you and
writes its own Soul.

### Give each bot a clear Soul

The Soul is the most important setting. The bot reads it at the start of
every conversation. Give each bot a different job so they don't overlap. For
example, for *Writer*:

```text
You are Writer, a friendly writer for a small outdoor-gear shop.
Turn research into clear, short articles for customers.
Use plain words and short paragraphs.
Never invent facts. Only use what the researcher found, and keep their links.
```

And for *Editor*:

```text
You are Editor. You check other bots' drafts before they go to me.
Fix spelling, grammar, and anything unclear.
List each change you made in a short bullet list.
You have the final say on wording.
```

Changes save automatically.

### Create the group chat

1. Click **+** at the top of the sidebar and choose **New group chat**.
2. Give it a name, like *Blog posts*.
3. Optionally type a **Team** to file it under, like *Marketing*.
4. Tick the bots to include: Scout, Writer, and Editor.
5. Click **Create group chat**.

### Write the group instructions and pick who answers

The first time you open the group chat, you can set two things.

**Group instructions** are for everyone in the chat: the goal, who owns
what, tone, and limits. For example:

> We write one blog post a week for our outdoor-gear shop. Scout researches,
> Writer drafts, Editor has the final say on wording. Keep posts under 800
> words.

**Who answers by default:**

| Default responder | What happens |
|---|---|
| **Everyone responds** | Every bot answers each message. The default for new group chats. |
| **Only when mentioned** | Only bots you `@mention` answer. |
| **Lead: …** | One bot answers unless you mention others. |

For a team with clear roles, **Only when mentioned** keeps things tidy: you
decide who speaks.

Click **Save & continue**, or **Skip for now** to do it later. You can change
who answers from the dropdown in the group chat's header.

### Talk to the team

Type `@` and a name to address a bot directly. **Mentions always win**, even
over the default responder. If you mention several bots, they answer in the
order you wrote them, and each one sees the earlier replies.

For example, send:

> @Scout find the three best-reviewed lightweight tents for beginners, with
> prices and links.
> @Writer then turn Scout's findings into a short buying guide.
> @Editor then check Writer's draft.

Here's what happens:

1. **Scout** goes first and does the research.
2. **Writer** catches up on what Scout said, then writes the guide.
3. **Editor** catches up on both, then checks the draft and lists its
changes.

Bots answer one at a time, never at once. Before each bot's turn, it re-reads
the group instructions. To ask everyone at once, use `@everyone`.

Bots can also pass work along themselves. If Scout ends its reply with
*"@Writer, over to you"*, Writer takes the next turn without you asking. Each
message you send allows up to 6 of these hand-offs, so bots can't keep
passing work back and forth forever.

Press **Stop** to interrupt the bot that's speaking and cancel the ones
waiting after it, including any hand-offs.

## Manage the group chat

- **Edit the group instructions** from the bar at the top. Press
  **Ctrl+Enter** (**⌘Enter**) to save, or **Esc** to cancel.
- **Add or remove bots:** click the **+** next to the member avatars and
  choose **Manage members**. A bot that leaves keeps its earlier messages in
  the chat.
- **Pin** a message to keep it at the top, or **Reply** to a specific
  message.
- **New topic?** Start a **New thread** under the group chat in the sidebar.

Your group chat and its team also appear in Machine Desktop on your other
computers and in the Machine phone app, so you can check on the team from
anywhere. See [Group chats](/docs/desktop/bots/group-chats#on-all-your-devices).

> **Warn**
> **Delete group chat** happens straight away, without asking, and deletes the
> group chat on all your devices.

![A group chat where Scout, Writer, and Dev report back and hand off with @mentions](/images/docs/desktop/group-chat.webp)

## Tips

- **One job per bot.** Clear, separate roles in each Soul give better
  results than three bots that all do everything.
- **Say who does what in the group instructions**, so each bot knows its
  part before it speaks.
- **Use the bots on their own too.** Each bot still has its own threads.
  A group chat is for when the job needs them together.
- **Group chats use each bot's default model.** Change it in **Bot settings →
  Model**.
- **This PC isn't available in group chats.** It works in a bot's own
  threads.
- **Share the team.** Put the bots in the team too (right-click each bot and
  choose **Move to team**). Then right-click the team's heading in the
  sidebar and choose **Share as a recipe** to save it as a file someone else
  can add. See
  [Bot recipes](/docs/desktop/bots/recipes#share-your-own-team).

## Next steps

- [Group chats](/docs/desktop/bots/group-chats)
- [Write a Soul for your bot](/docs/desktop/bots/soul)
- [Bot recipes](/docs/desktop/bots/recipes)
- [@mentions and message actions](/docs/desktop/chat/message-actions)
- [The sidebar and teams](/docs/desktop/bots/sidebar)