The built-in assistant

Last updated 2026-08-16

The assistant is the connector without the setup: a chat that lives in the portal, scoped to the file you have open, running over the same 24 read-only MCP tools as the external connector. Nothing to install, no MCP client needed. You bring the one thing FM Fathom doesn't supply: an AI to do the thinking.

Bring your own key

FM Fathom doesn't resell AI. You add an API key from one of three providers, and your conversations run on your account, under your control:

Add a key on the Connect to AI page, under API Keys. When you save one, FM Fathom fetches the live list of models that key can actually run and offers those in the assistant's model picker.

Keys are stored encrypted, server-side, per user. After saving, the portal shows only a key's prefix; the full key is never sent back to the browser. Delete a key anytime on the same page.

Using it

Once a key is in place, the AI group appears in the sidebar with Assistant inside it. Open it, pick a model, and ask about the file you're in. The prompt recipes all work here.

Conversations are saved per file; rename, archive, or delete them as they pile up.

Assistant or connector?

Use the assistant when you're already in the portal and want answers next to the thing you're looking at. Use the connector when you want your solution available inside a longer-running AI workflow, next to your code, notes, and everything else your AI client holds. They're the same tools either way; pick by where you like to work.

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