Emily Student User Manual
Western University pilot · Telegram @Emcbearbot
Version 2026-09-08 · emily-ai.net/manual
Talk naturally in chat. Slash commands are optional.
Live help: /help. Product tour: /tour. First weeks: /coach start.
Contents
- 1. Quick start
- 2. How to talk to Emily
- 3. Study & tutoring
- 4. Campus & day-to-day
- 5. Reminders, timers, lists
- 6. Memory, people & privacy
- 7. Connect your apps
- 8. Safety, crisis & feedback
- 9. First weeks coach
- 10. Slash command cheatsheet
- 11. Tips that save time
- 12. Related docs
1. Quick start
- Open Emily on Telegram and send
/start. - Accept Terms when prompted (privacy · terms).
- Optional: reply yes or
/coach startfor first-weeks tips (money, safety, adulting). - Optional: reply next or
/tourfor a 7-step product walkthrough. - Ask something concrete — explain photosynthesis, gym hours, remind me tomorrow at 3pm to submit lab.
You usually don’t need to manage modes. Emily switches focus (tutor / campus / apps) from what you asked. If she switched and you want the previous focus, reply stay.
2. How to talk to Emily
| Prefer | Example |
|---|---|
| Natural language | quiz me on mitosis · remind me tomorrow to buy textbooks |
| Slash shortcuts | /help · /learn · /assistant · /proofread |
| Files | Attach a PDF/photo in Primary and ask a question about it |
| Voice | Send a voice note (Whispr STT); optional TTS replies via /voice |
Modes (optional locks):
| Mode | When | Slash |
|---|---|---|
| Primary | Full explanations, files, proofread | /primary |
| Learning | Hints first, mastery grading | /learn |
| Assistant | Campus, reminders, apps | /assistant |
3. Study & tutoring
| Job | Say |
|---|---|
| Explain a topic | explain stoichiometry · walk me through mitosis |
| Practice | quiz me on thermodynamics · help me practice stoichiometry |
| Study plan | I have a chem midterm Thursday — help me make a study plan |
| Goals | my goal is pass Chem midterm · show my goals |
| Diagram | show a diagram of the mitochondria · /illustrate photosynthesis (~10/day) |
| Proofread | Attach draft or proofread: paste text · /proofread (scores + fixes, not ghostwriting) |
| Brainstorm | brainstorm ideas for my art project · /brainstorm (ideas only) |
Mastery loop: hint → check question → you answer → Emily grades into mastery. Ask what's my progress in cell biology? after you’ve practiced.
College / career (guidance only):
/college checklist·/college deadlines·/college essay …(structure/guidance, not writing the essay)/career explore …·/career resources
4. Campus & day-to-day
| Job | Say |
|---|---|
| Hours / places | gym hours · library hours · where is Starbucks on campus? |
| Transit | ltc bus routes · train to toronto · via rail |
| Health / safety | how do I book a counsellor? · I feel unsafe walking back to residence |
| Tutoring office | how do I contact the tutoring center? |
| Directions | Share Telegram location, then directions to Weldon Library · transit to downtown |
| On-campus walk | best route on campus to the biology lab (no GPS required for many campus buildings) |
| Weather | what's the weather? · will it rain? · /weather |
| Timetable | what's my next class? · who teaches my chem class? · /timetable |
| Morning / evening | good morning · good evening · opening day brief · closing day brief |
| Daily briefing | enable morning briefing at 7:30am · briefing schedule |
| Location reminder | remind me when I get to class · when I arrive at the Rec Centre |
Campus answers are grounded in Western University KB by default. Hours change — Emily points you to official links when needed.
5. Reminders, timers, lists
| Job | Say |
|---|---|
| One-shot reminder | remind me tomorrow at 3pm to submit essay · in an hour · every Friday to … |
| + Google Calendar | remind me … on my calendar (when Google is linked) |
| Timer / Pomodoro | set a 25 minute timer · pomodoro · /timers |
| Todo | add submit lab report to my todo · show my todo list · /todo |
| Notes | note to self: parking level 3 · show my notes |
| Shopping | add milk to my shopping list · show my shopping list · /shopping |
6. Memory, people & privacy
| Job | Say | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Remember a fact | remember Dr. Kim is my chem professor · remember I like sushi | ||
| Pin study notes | pin chem syllabus as kb: … · list kb sources · /kb |
||
| Lecture memory | After a lecture summary: save this lecture to my memory · show my lecture memory | ||
| Profile | call me Alex · I'm at Western · what do you know about me? | ||
| People / contacts | /people · show my contacts · tell my mom I'll be late |
||
| Privacy mode | privacy mode on · don't share this · `/privacy on\ | off\ | status` |
| Reindex | reindex my memory | ||
| Export data | export my data · /exportdata (ZIP) · export to Google Drive |
||
| Full wipe | /forget flow (PIN + confirm when enabled) |
Emily can message a parent/trusted contact you saved — she cannot place phone calls.
7. Connect your apps
Connect once in chat (OAuth). Better after you’re settled (coach suggests ~week 2).
Google — /google
| Job | Say |
|---|---|
| Connect | connect google · /google |
| summarize my email | |
| Calendar | what's due this week · what's on my calendar? · am i free friday night |
| Study block | block 2 hours for calculus study tomorrow at 2pm |
| Add event | add chem lab to my calendar Tuesday at 2pm |
Emily Drive — /drive
| Job | Say |
|---|---|
| List | /drive list · list my drive |
| Find / read | find my calculus notes · read my english_essay.docx |
| Analyze | /drive analyze syllabus.pdf · analyze bio_lab from my drive |
Files stay in your Drive — Emily does not copy your library into a chat knowledge base.
Notion — /notion
| Job | Say |
|---|---|
| Connect | connect notion · /notion |
| Assignments | show my assignments · add assignment: chem lab due Friday |
| Done | mark calculus homework done |
| Link Drive file | link my essay.docx to chem lab in notion |
| Help with assignment | help me with chem lab (Primary) |
| Notes / search | notes for chem lab · search notion for … |
| Class schedule | show my timetable · what's my next class? (when classes DB is configured) |
Spotify — /spotify
what's playing on spotify · play lofi on spotify · /spotify (playback needs Premium where applicable)
Uber — /uber
uber to downtown · connect uber · /uber (estimates + deep link)
8. Safety, crisis & feedback
| Need | Command / phrase |
|---|---|
| Crisis resources | /emergency — or say if you are in immediate danger |
| Wrong block on school topic | /appeal |
| Product feedback | /feedback … · feature request: … |
| Wrong last answer | /fix · that's wrong — retry in ~10 minutes |
| Support | support@emily-ai.net |
Emily is not a counsellor, ER, or companion chatbot. For life-threatening emergencies call 911 (Canada).
Opt-in life features:
/support— brief vent support/mood on— optional mood check-ins/family checkin on· heading out to …, back by 10pm — optional trusted-contact ping/household on— WiFi / emergency numbers (encrypted, opt-in)
9. First weeks coach
A ~28-day independence path (fees, safewalk, laundry, parent message, briefing, study).
| Command | Effect |
|---|---|
/coach start |
Opt in |
/coach status |
Progress |
/coach mute / unmute |
Pause / resume tips |
/coach skip |
Skip current milestone |
Tips appear occasionally while you chat; morning briefing can include one coach line.
10. Slash command cheatsheet
| Command | Purpose |
|---|---|
/start |
Welcome + Terms |
/help |
This manual’s live twin |
/manual |
Link to this web manual (+ /manual parents) |
/tour |
Product walkthrough |
/coach |
First-weeks path |
/primary /learn /assistant |
Mode locks |
/privacy /exportdata /forget |
Privacy & data rights |
/people /memory /kb |
Contacts & memory |
/todo /timers /shopping /timetable /weather |
Lists & campus |
/google /drive /notion /spotify /uber |
Integrations |
/proofread /brainstorm /illustrate |
Study tools |
/college /career |
Prep (guidance only) |
/family /household /mood /support |
Opt-in life |
/voice |
TTS on/off/status |
/emergency /appeal /feedback /fix |
Safety, product, wrong-answer repair |
11. Tips that save time
- Ask the primary job first (library hours, brief me on my assignments) — don’t bury it under course names alone.
- Share location once before directions or location reminders.
- Link Google/Notion when you actually need calendar/assignments — not day one.
- Use Learning mode (
/learn) when you want practice, not answer dumps. - Proofread and college essay tools give guidance — they won’t write the paper for you.
12. Related docs
| Doc | Role |
|---|---|
| Parent & Trusted-Contact Guide | Parent / trusted-contact edition |
| emily-ai.net/for-students | Public student page |
| emily-ai.net/faq | FAQ |
Support: support@emily-ai.net
Keep this file in sync with /help (emily_core/assistant/router.py) and onboarding copy.