All blog posts

Save Thousands of Hours (and Dollars) with Cassidy's New Research Agent

Index

Research doesn’t have to be an expensive, manual, time-consuming process anymore.

With Cassidy’s Research Agent, you get real-time, continuous access to the web until it finds the precise answers you need, delivering up-to-date, accurate information quickly and effortlessly.

Whether you’re after business insights or competitive data to fuel your growth strategy, this tool ensures you get the exact information you’re looking for — no manual research required. 

Unlike tools like ChatGPT, which handle individual queries, Cassidy’s solution is designed for repeatable, in-depth research. It continuously gathers, processes, and aggregates live web data, making it far more powerful for automating complex tasks that drive business decisions.

If you’ve been spending hours on research or relying on tools that fall short, it’s time to save both time and money with this powerful solution. 

Ready to see how it can transform your workflow? Let’s dive in

Simplifying research with limitless reach

Research Agent scours the internet to retrieve real-time data tailored to your needs. Whether you’re conducting in-depth analysis or verifying key information, it eliminates manual effort and helps you make faster, more informed decisions.

At its core, Research Agent combines custom queries, autonomous web scraping, data analysis, and customizable output options. Here’s how it works:

  • Custom Instructions: You define exactly what data you're looking for—whether it’s competitive insights, verifying a company’s online presence, or gathering the latest news. This gives you complete control over the research process.
  • Autonomous Web Scraping: The tool automatically scans public online sources like websites and databases, saving you hours of manual searches. It can’t log into private accounts but uses public-facing data to gather insights. For example, you could input a company domain, and Research Agent would analyze accessible websites and compile a list of competitors for you.
  • Data Processing and Confidence: After collecting the data, it’s analyzed and presented with confidence scores, detailed reasoning, and a step-by-step breakdown of how the results were gathered. You’ll be able to trust the data and understand exactly how it was sourced.
  • Customizable Output: The results are delivered in a format that fits seamlessly into your workflow, allowing you to quickly act on the insights you’ve gathered. Whether you're generating reports, conducting competitive analysis, or validating information, the output is flexible and designed to meet your specific needs.

As Research Agent continues to evolve, new templates and features will be added, enhancing its research capabilities and allowing you to tackle even more complex tasks.

For more details, check out this overview video: 

Our pre-existing templates can already help you work magic 🪄

We've created a range of pre-built templates available to simplify common research tasks, helping you get started right away.

These templates handle tasks such as:

  • Gathering Company and Competitor Information
  • Analyzing Company ICP and Positioning
  • Finding Company's Social Media Profiles
  • Identifying Person Names from Work Email Addresses
  • Locating Company Executives and Founders
  • Searching for Company Competitors
  • Verifying Domain Status
  • Finding Company Customers
  • Getting Company 10-K Reports

These templates allow you to quickly gather relevant data without having to build workflows from scratch. Whether you’re searching for key contacts or analyzing competitors, the templates are designed to make your job easier.

But the real advantage comes from customization. While pre-built templates offer convenience, you can design your own workflows tailored to your specific needs. Whether you're automating a series of unique tasks or gathering insights for a highly specialized project, you can create workflows that match your exact requirements.

By designing custom templates, you not only save time but also open the door to automating complex tasks. This flexibility allows you to streamline operations, make more informed decisions, and focus on using the data to fuel business growth.

Applying Research Agent's insights for your business

The data gathered by Research Agent can be used across different areas of your business to make smarter, more strategic decisions.

  • For Sales: Detailed insights on potential customers, including their company background and key contacts, allow you to tailor your outreach for maximum impact.
  • For Competitive Analysis: Having access to competitor data in real-time enables you to quickly identify market trends, analyze your competitors’ strategies, and adjust your own.
  • For Lead Generation: By automating research, you can quickly build lists of high-quality contacts and leads, giving your team more time to focus on outreach.
  • For Market Research: Gain access to industry trends and customer preferences to make strategic business decisions faster, putting you ahead of the competition.

Here's an example of how you can conduct industry research: 

As many departments in your organization are likely spending significant time or money on research tools, we aim to simplify that—while offering you the most accurate, current insights available from across the web.

Plus, exporting this data is easy.

With integrations like OneDrive and Word, exporting your data is seamless, allowing you to put research into immediate use. Some integrations work across both Knowledge Base and workflows, such as Slack, making it easy to store data and send notifications where they’re most useful. No matter where your data is headed, outputs are formatted to fit your exact needs.

Experience Cassidy for yourself

Ready to simplify your workflows and make data-driven decisions with ease? Cassidy offers the tools to automate your research and streamline operations across your business. 

Sign up for a free trial today.

Share online

Page URL

Read more posts

See all articles
Become the AI Expert in Your Industry
Read more

Become the AI Expert in Your Industry

Industry news

This might be the biggest opportunity in AI right now: take your industry expertise, apply new AI knowledge, and become the AI expert in your industry.

See, a recent McKinsey report stated that AI adoption in the workplace has actually remained stagnant from 2021 to 2023.

I believe that’s because most people have a general understanding of AI, but they have no idea how to use it in their specific industry. There’s a huge opportunity to become the person who shows people how to apply AI to your industry. Focus on teaching use cases actually relevant to their daily work.

The more niche you get, the bigger impact you can have.

How do you become the AI expert in your industry?

First, position yourself as the "AI Person" at your company. Share your learnings and experiments with colleagues and other people in your industry.

There's no shortage of people looking to make their lives easier. Start by helping those around you.

To take it a step further, share your insights online.

You know I love TikTok, but it doesn’t matter which platform you choose. TikTok, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, whatever. The steps are simple.

  1. Learn about AI
  2. Use it in your industry
  3. Share online how you’re doing that.
  4. Repeat for months-years

If your content is helpful and you do it for long enough, you’ll start to be seen as the AI expert for your industry. You'll have the opportunity to make a significant impact by applying the power of AI to address specific problems within your field.

Remember: every industry needs an AI expert, you can be it.

Cassidy vs. Microsoft Copilot
Read more

Cassidy vs. Microsoft Copilot

Industry news

This article will explore the critical differences between Cassidy and Microsoft Copilot. We will focus on Cassidy's diverse features, robust Knowledge Base, and seamless integrations to understand its advantages for organizations looking for efficient AI workspaces.

AI Models and Flexibility

Cassidy supports multiple AI models, including OpenAI's GPT-4o & GPT-4, Google Gemini, and Anthropic Claude. Microsoft Copilot, on the other hand, relies solely on OpenAI. Given Microsoft's partnership with OpenAI, their models are limited to the OpenAI ecosystem. By being model agnostic, Cassidy allows for newer and better models to be added automatically, mitigating the risks of investing in outdated AI models. You also have the added flexibility that certain models are better than others at certain tasks, so you can selectively choose the best models based on your tasks.

Knowledge Base

While you can integrate your SharePoint files within Microsoft 365, you cannot connect other third-party tools like Google Drive. Cassidy's Knowledge Base securely connects with over 100 tools, ensuring real-time updates and privacy. This provides a more comprehensive knowledge management solution to generate accurate and relevant responses across thousands of files, for your entire time.

AI Assistants

Cassidy's AI Assistants, powered by the Knowledge Base, perform specific tasks while maintaining contextual consistency across teams. Microsoft Copilot offers Copilot GPTs that function similarly to Cassidy Assistants; however, they:

  1. Cannot access the same level of context via the Knowledge Base.
  2. Are limited to the Microsoft ecosystem and cannot be used in workflows with non-Microsoft tools.
  3. Are restricted to developer-centric solutions, while Cassidy is a no-code solution accessible to both technical and non-technical users.

Multi-step Workflows

Microsoft Copilot Studio offers limited workflow automation with a focus on deploying Copilot GPT-type assistants to different tools. Unlike Cassidy, which enables users to build and run multi-step workflows for end-to-end automation, Copilot Studio is more technical and less accessible to non-developer users. Their automations, similar to their Assistants (Copilot GPTs), are Sharepoint-centric. Cassidy’s no-code workflows enable comprehensive automations from enriching inbound leads to triggering internal slack messages to your team.

Integrations

Cassidy integrates with key tools like Google Drive, SharePoint, Notion, Slack, Zapier, and many more, allowing for seamless integration of AI Assistants. In contrast, Microsoft Copilot is limited to Microsoft applications like SharePoint and does not integrate with Zapier. Cassidy’s extensive integrations enable you to trigger actions that are not possible with Microsoft Copilot.

Security and Data Privacy

Both Cassidy and Microsoft Copilot prioritize data security with enterprise-grade protocols and follow the industry's top practices for security and privacy. Both platforms are SOC2 compliant. Learn more about Cassidy’s security at trust.cassidyai.com.

Support and Onboarding Process

While Cassidy ensures onboarding assistance for all enterprise teams, Microsoft Copilot offers self-help resources, admin self-help, support plans, partner assistance, and sales contacts. Cassidy's support includes a dedicated account manager, team training sessions, weekly office hours, and a Slack channel to help teams build AI assistants and workflows tailored to their specific use cases. This level of support allows Cassidy users to effectively roll out AI solutions within their organization.

Reach out to learn more

If you're interested in learning more, contact our sales team at team@cassidyai.com.

What are Cassidy credits?
Read more

What are Cassidy credits?

About us

Cassidy credits are the fuel that powers everything on our platform — from assistants to workflows.

Each month, based on your subscription plan, you receive a set number of credits. These credits are deducted as you complete tasks — simpler ones use fewer credits, while more complex workflows require more.

This streamlined approach allows you to manage your usage effortlessly, giving you access to all our AI models without needing multiple API keys or separate subscriptions. There are over 8 models built-in to choose from, including OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google’s latest models.

In this article, we’ll break down Cassidy credits in more detail, but if you're looking for a high-level overview of Cassidy's credits and pricing, head over to our pricing page.

What are Cassidy credits and how do they work

Cassidy credits are the backbone of how you access and utilize the AI-powered features on our platform. Instead of juggling multiple API subscriptions or worrying about separate charges for each tool, Cassidy credits simplify your experience by acting as a "universal currency." so to speak.

Each feature, from running workflows to chatting with assistants, pulls from your monthly pool of credits, making it easy to track and manage your usage.

When you sign up for Cassidy, your plan comes with a set number of credits each month. These credits are deducted as you run tasks on the platform. The more complex the task—like detailed workflows or analyzing large datasets—the more credits it consumes. Simpler tasks, like basic queries or short assistant interactions, use fewer credits.

Here’s how it works:

  • Choose between 8+ models: Depending on the automation, your team might prefer different models for different use cases. For instance, GPT-4o is better at data analysis, while Claude 3.5 Sonnet is better at content writing. As newer and better models get released, we’ll add them directly into Cassidy.
  • Task-Based Consumption: Every task you run deducts credits from your monthly allocation, whether it’s small day-to-day tasks or large workflows.
  • No API Key Hassle: Usually, accessing AI models across different platforms requires multiple API subscriptions. Cassidy credits simplify that—you pay for one subscription, and your credits cover all features in one place.
  • Real-Time Monitoring: Track how many credits you’ve used and how many are left. For teams, credits are shared across your organization.
  • Scalable Usage: Whether your needs grow or shrink, Cassidy credits adapt to your usage, ensuring you only use what’s necessary.

It should also be noted that Cassidy credits do not roll over every month.

What happens if I accidentally go over my Cassidy credits?

We understand that credit usage can vary. If you find yourself running low or going over on credits, reach out to our team. We’ll work with you to find a solution, whether it's a one-time boost or a plan adjustment to better suit your needs — the key thing to note is that we want to work with you.

Couple of quick FAQs about Cassidy credits

Is there a cost per credit?
Rather than charging per individual credit, our pricing model factors in seats, features, support, and other benefits. This helps us provide more value through flexible plans that adapt to your needs.

Are there any free actions within Cassidy?
Yes, many actions within Cassidy are free and don’t consume credits. These include tasks that don’t require AI, like scraping a webpage or searching the internet. However, integrations with platforms like HubSpot or Salesforce require a subscription tier but won’t consume additional credits once enabled.

How can I quickly check my remaining Cassidy credits?
You can easily monitor your Cassidy credits by navigating to the 'Credits & Storage' tab in the Organization Settings. This will give you an up-to-date view of your remaining credits and storage usage, helping you plan accordingly.

Customized plan tailored for your needs

At the moment, our Starter Plan offers 10k credits per month, with access to all of Cassidy’s core features, including unlimited assistants, workflows, and integrations with tools like Slack, Notion, and Sharepoint. This plan is perfect for individuals and teams starting out with AI-powered workflows.

However, for businesses with more specific needs — whether it's handling larger data volumes, scaling across departments, or needing advanced customization — our Custom Plan may be the right fit.

With a Custom Plan, you’ll enjoy:

  • Custom credits per month: Tailored to match the complexity of your workflows and team size.
  • Unlimited assistants and workflows: Automate without restrictions, so your team can scale tasks effortlessly.
  • Advanced integrations: Connect Cassidy to internal systems or specialized tools, going beyond standard integrations.
  • White-glove setup and onboarding: Get personalized support for a smooth implementation process and hands-on assistance.
  • Single Sign-On (SSO) capability: Secure and simplify user access with SSO integration.
  • Dedicated AI expert: Work with a dedicated expert to help optimize workflows and maximize efficiency.
  • Custom AI training: Receive tailored training to ensure your team makes the most of Cassidy’s features.
  • Custom integrations and live syncing: Keep workflows in sync with your essential tools and systems.
  • AI ROI reports: Track the benefits and ROI of your AI workflows to see tangible results.

A Custom Plan is ideal for organizations with more complex needs, offering flexibility and dedicated support as you grow. If this sounds like a good fit for your team, feel free to reach out to explore the best plan for your goals and maximize the value Cassidy can bring.

How we help save money compared to traditional API subscriptions

With Cassidy, you’re not just getting access to powerful AI tools—you’re also saving money by avoiding the need for separate API subscriptions and costly maintenance. Instead of managing multiple providers, Cassidy brings everything together, bundling a wide range of features into one platform for greater value.

We take care of the technical complexities—managing services, maintaining integrations, and handling updates—so you can focus on growing your business without worrying about hidden development or maintenance costs. By offering essential AI features and providers in one place, Cassidy helps you streamline your workflow and ensures you get the best performance without the hassle of multiple subscriptions or additional fees.

How many credits are used for typical workflows

If you are using the free trial or starter plan, you will have a limited amount of credits. Understanding how many credits different tasks consume can help you make the most of your Cassidy credits. Here’s a quick breakdown of what to expect for common activities:

  • Chats with Assistants: These usually consume between 1 and 30 credits, depending on the complexity of the conversation and the level of detail required.
  • Workflows: The credit usage for workflows can vary widely, from 1 to 100 credits, based on the scope and depth of the task. Simple workflows will cost less, while complex workflows involving multiple steps and large datasets will consume more credits.

These estimates provide a general idea, but the actual credit consumption will vary based on the specifics of your tasks.

What factors influence the amount of credits used?

Several factors determine how many credits a task will consume. Here are some key considerations:

  • AI Model: More advanced models require more credits. For basic tasks, simpler models can conserve credits, whereas complex analysis or generation tasks may need a more robust model.
  • Token Size: Tasks that involve large inputs or outputs (like longer documents or extended conversations) will require more tokens, which in turn increases the credit consumption. For example, if you’re summarizing a lengthy document, expect to use more credits.
  • Knowledge Base Access: Interacting with the knowledge base—whether retrieving information or analyzing existing content—tends to consume more credits. This is because accessing, processing, and analyzing data from the knowledge base can be resource-intensive, especially with large or complex entries.
  • Bulk Runs: When you run workflows in bulk, such as processing multiple datasets simultaneously, credit consumption rises significantly. Breaking up tasks or running them in smaller batches can help manage your usage more efficiently.

By considering these factors, you can better estimate credit usage for your tasks and optimize your workflows to make the most of your Cassidy credits.

Tips for maximizing value of your Cassidy credits

While Cassidy credits give you access to powerful AI tools, optimizing how you use them ensures that you get the most value without burning through your monthly allowance. Here are some practical tips to help you stretch your credits further and make the most of Cassidy’s capabilities.

  1. Use Smaller AI Models for Simple Tasks
    Not all tasks need the most advanced AI model. For straightforward actions like summarizing text, correcting grammar, or drafting emails, smaller models can get the job done. By using these lighter models, you conserve your credits for more complex workflows.
  2. Test Workflows with Limited Data First
    When building or testing new workflows, start small. Instead of running the full dataset or more intricate processes right away, try a few steps at a time to make sure everything works as expected. This way, you avoid consuming extra credits on trial runs and can save resources for the final, optimized version.
  3. Keep Chat Conversations Focused
    When interacting with AI assistants, longer chats consume more credits as the AI retains context from previous messages. Starting a new chat after completing a task will typically use fewer credits. For routine tasks, such as drafting or refining content, non-Q&A assistants can help conserve credits while still delivering quality results.
  4. Monitor Your Usage Regularly
    Cassidy makes it easy to keep an eye on your credit usage through the dashboard. By regularly checking your credit consumption, you can adjust your workflows and plan for more intensive tasks without depleting your credits prematurely. If your needs grow, consider upgrading to a custom plan for more flexibility.
  5. Be Strategic with Bulk Runs
    Running workflows in bulk, like processing multiple datasets or documents at once, can significantly increase credit usage. Whenever possible, run workflows in smaller batches or break up larger tasks to avoid overloading your credits.

By following these tips, you'll ensure that your Cassidy credits go a long way, helping you unlock the platform's full potential while staying within your monthly limits. If you ever find yourself needing more credits, we’re here to help with flexible plans designed to scale with your needs.

Build AI automations that work for you and your company

With Cassidy, you’ve got everything you need to build AI automations that streamline workflows and boost productivity. Our platform adapts to your unique needs, whether you’re a small business or a large enterprise. Sign up for a free trial today!

See all articles

Start building AI tools in minutes

Access to the top models

Cassidy includes the top 5+ leading AI models.

Assistants

Intelligent assistants personalized to your team.

Workflows

Automate tasks with custom, data-driven workflows.

Chrome extension

Cassidy at your fingertips with browser extensions.

No model training

Unlike ChatGPT, Cassidy never trains with your data.

Knowledge Base

Centralized intelligence for smarter automation.