Prompts vs. Skills
Revelry Ai uses two closely related terms: prompt and Skill. They sound similar but mean different things, and understanding the distinction makes it much easier to decide when to type something into chat versus save it for reuse.
What is a Prompt?
A prompt is the raw text you send to the AI in the moment: the message you type into Chat or hand to an agent. It's a one-off instruction. You write it, the AI responds, and that's it. Nothing is saved as a reusable asset (beyond your chat history).
Example prompt: "Summarize this meeting transcript into five bullet points and list any action items."
Prompts are the fastest way to get something done. They're ideal for exploration, quick questions, and tasks you don't expect to repeat. Writing effective prompts is a skill of its own; see Prompt Engineering Techniques.
What is a Skill?
A Skill is a saved, reusable, structured version of an instruction. Think of it as a prompt that's been packaged up so you and your whole organization can run it again and again with consistent results.
Naming note: Skills were called Prompt Templates, and the Skill Library was the Prompt Library, before v1.2.0. If you have API scripts that send
prompt_template_id, see the API Usage Guide for the currentskill_idfield.
A Skill can include:
- Base prompt text: the core instruction, just like a prompt
- User inputs: fields a teammate fills in each time they run the Skill
- Document attachments: files the Skill always has on hand as reference material
- Model configuration: a specific AI model to use for this Skill
- Built-in tools: scoped access to your Knowledge Base, Artifact generation, and Web Search
- Integrations: which external integrations should be active
Project and Organization context is injected automatically at runtime.
Skills live in the Skill Library, can be shared across your Organization, and are used both in Chat and as the building blocks of Workflow steps. In chat, a Skill can run inline in your current conversation or in a separate isolated session; see How Skills run in chat.
At a glance
| Prompt | Skill | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Raw text sent to chat or an agent | A saved, reusable template (fka Prompt Template) |
| Lifespan | One-off, in the moment | Persisted and reusable |
| Inputs | Whatever you type | Defined, structured user inputs |
| Attachments | Whatever you attach to the message | Documents saved with the Skill |
| Model / tools | Uses the chat's current settings | Can pin its own model, built-in tools, and integrations |
| Sharing | Personal to your conversation | Shareable across your Organization |
| Best for | Exploration, quick one-off tasks | Repeatable, standardized content generation |
When to use which
- Reach for a prompt when you're exploring, asking a one-off question, or iterating quickly in chat.
- Build a Skill when you find yourself writing the same kind of prompt repeatedly, want teammates to get consistent results, or need to plug the instruction into a Workflow.
A common path is to start with a prompt in chat, refine it until it works well, then save it as a Skill so your team can reuse it. See Building a Skill to get started.
Next Steps
- Skills Overview: The Skill Library and how to use Skills
- Building a Skill: Create your own reusable Skill
- Prompt Engineering Techniques: Write better prompt text