AI glossary
Agent skills
Packaged instructions, scripts and resources that an AI assistant loads only when a task needs them, to do that task in a specific, repeatable way.
A skill is usually a folder with a description and step-by-step instructions, sometimes with templates or scripts — for example “create a slide deck in our brand style” or “review a contract against our checklist”. The assistant sees short descriptions of the skills available and loads the full instructions only when relevant, which saves context.
Skills teach how to do something; MCP connectors give access to what to work with (apps and data). They are often used together.
Example: A company creates a “monthly report” skill with its template and the steps for working out the figures. When someone asks for the report, the assistant loads that skill and prepares it the same way every time, without anyone explaining it again.
In practice
- Use them for tasks you repeat often that have a right way of being done.
- Write the description with when it should be used in mind: that is what the assistant reads to decide whether to load it.
- Only install skills from trusted sources: they can include scripts the assistant may run.
For the other half, connecting apps and data, read what MCP is.
