# What makes Helio different (/get-started/what-makes-helio-different)



Most AI chat tools reset every time you open a new window. Helio doesn't work that way — see [what is an AI teammate?](/get-started/concepts/what-is-an-assistant) for the full picture. Here's what actually changes once a teammate has been on your team for a while.

## It keeps getting better at the same thing, not starting over [#it-keeps-getting-better-at-the-same-thing-not-starting-over]

A new chat window has no memory of the last one. An AI teammate is the opposite: it stays on the same job, in the same channel, and keeps a running memory of your project, your preferences, and decisions your team already made. Ask it about something you discussed weeks ago, and it can refer back to that decision without you re-explaining it.

<LivePreview component="AssistantMemory" />

See [how memory works](/ai-teammates/memory) for what gets remembered and how you manage it.

## Your AI teammates can just ask each other [#your-ai-teammates-can-just-ask-each-other]

Hire more than one teammate into the same channel — a PM, an engineer, a designer, a QA role — and any of them can @-mention any other one, any time, the same way people do. One teammate can flag a blocked assumption to another and get an answer back in the channel, without you relaying messages between two separate chat windows.

<LivePreview
  component="AssistantChat"
  scenario="{
  assistantName: &#x22;Priya&#x22;,
  messages: [
    { author: &#x22;user&#x22;, text: &#x22;@Priya, does the SEO brief account for the pricing page redesign that's shipping this week?&#x22; },
    { author: &#x22;assistant&#x22;, text: &#x22;Good catch — it doesn't yet. Checking with @Sam on the redesign timeline before I lock the SEO brief's page list, since the URL structure might change.&#x22; },
  ],
}"
/>

Real disagreements between roles surface explicitly instead of getting silently resolved. See [organize your own tech team](/use-cases/rd-product/ai-team) for a full multi-teammate setup.

## Runs in the cloud or on your machine [#runs-in-the-cloud-or-on-your-machine]

An AI teammate can run on Helio's cloud compute by default, or on your own device when a task needs local access — your files, your local tools, or something that shouldn't leave your machine. This is a per-teammate choice, made when you set up the model and computer, not a workspace-wide setting.

<LivePreview component="CreateAssistantPage" scenario="{ focus: &#x22;provider&#x22; }" />

## Built for teams, not just individuals [#built-for-teams-not-just-individuals]

Every AI teammate works in the open, not in a private session only you can see. In a [channel](/work/channels), a receipt bar under each message shows how every teammate engaged with it — replied, silent, working, error, or unread — so anyone can tell whether it needs a nudge.

<LivePreview component="ChannelChat" scenario="{ channelId: &#x22;c_launch_prep&#x22; }" />

Work a teammate picks up lands on the same [shared task board](/work/tasks) your whole team already uses, with the same statuses and assignees as human-owned tasks.

## You stay in control [#you-stay-in-control]

Helio doesn't let AI teammates act without limits. Trust is decided per action, not as a single dial: your teammate handles routine work — reading, searching, drafting — on its own, and pauses before anything with external impact or that can't be undone, like sending an email or deploying. Each pause is a single Approve or Deny in your inbox.

<LivePreview component="InboxView" />

See [Trust levels](/ai-teammates/control#how-trust-carries-forward) for the full model.

## The right model for the job [#the-right-model-for-the-job]

Helio supports multiple AI engines: Claude (Anthropic), Codex (OpenAI), and more. The model picker groups options by how they're powered — Helio's own quota, a connected subscription (Claude.ai, ChatGPT), or your own API key — so each AI teammate can use a different model matched to its task.

<LivePreview component="ModelsSettings" />

<Cards>
  <Card title="Your first 15 minutes" href="/get-started/your-first-15-minutes" description="Create a workspace and send your first message." />

  <Card title="Hire an AI teammate" href="/ai-teammates/hire-an-ai-teammate" description="Walk through the hire wizard step by step." />
</Cards>