1 · Set up and switch on
Find the computers a quiet spot, for example in a cabinet or on a shelf. Then, for each computer:
Power. Plug in the power cable.
Network. Connect a network cable from the computer to your router. A cable connection runs more reliably than Wi-Fi.
Switch on. If the small white light on the front is on, it’s already running. If it isn’t, press the power button once. On the current Mac mini, the button is on the underside, at the back left when you’re looking at it from the front. Just tilt the computer up for a moment to reach it.
After that, the computers simply stay on, day and night. You don’t need a monitor, keyboard, or mouse. They work quietly in the background, even long after you’ve gone to sleep. If the power ever goes out, they start back up on their own.
2 · Say hello
You talk to your AI employee via WhatsApp or Telegram. Those are your channels to him. Pick the one you already use, or use both side by side, whatever you prefer.
We’ll give you his number. Save it to your contacts. Then just write to him like you would to a colleague, or send him a voice message. By the way, he already knows you: when we set him up, we gave him everything you told us about yourself and your company.
How to talk to him so you get the best results is what we’ll show you in the Academy, coming up next. To start, one sentence is all it takes:
“Hi, I’m [your name]. From now on, your name is [name].”
Give him a name. That might sound a little unusual at first. But we know what we’re talking about: he’s going to be your closest team member. The two of you will work together every day and grow together faster than you can imagine right now. At some point, you’ll call him by his name without even thinking about it, and he’ll have a personality all his own. We’re already where you’ll soon be. You’ll see.
He’s not answering?
Don’t worry, it’s usually something small. Go through these four points in order:
1 · Light. Is the small white light on at the front of each computer? If not: check that the power cable is plugged in firmly and that the socket has power, for example with a lamp. Then press the power button once, as in step 1.
2 · Cable and internet. Is the network cable plugged in firmly at the computer and at the router? And is the internet working in your office?
3 · Wait a moment. After being switched on, he needs a few minutes before he can answer. Then simply message him again.
4 · Check the number. Did you save exactly the number we gave you, with the country code at the front? Also try the other channel, Telegram instead of WhatsApp or the other way around.
Still nothing? If the Doctor answers, message him. He’ll take a look at your AI employee and get him back on track. If neither one answers, get in touch with us: by chat, callback or email. We’ll take care of it.
3 · Connect your email account
Why? Your email keeps working just as before, on your phone and on your computer. Nothing changes there. There’s just one thing: so far, your AI employee can’t see it. Imagine an office manager who never gets to see your mail. They could hardly help you.
Once you connect your email account to him, he can read your emails, prepare replies, and always stay in the loop. He knows the history behind every customer, sorts your inbox, and reminds you when a reply is still outstanding. Of course, all of this only happens when you give him the task.
Here’s how. In your WhatsApp or Telegram chat with him, write:
“Set up my email: [your address].”
He’ll tell you which login details he needs, usually what’s called an app password, and explain in plain words how to get it. Then he sets everything up and proves that it works with a real email from your inbox.
Don’t worry: Of course, nothing goes out in your name unless you’ve given him the task or your approval. Exactly how you manage tasks and approvals is covered in Chapter 4.
4 · Give him your documents and folders
Why? The more he knows about you, the better he can help you. For him, every document is both learning material and a reference: he learns from it, goes back to it, and carries on working in your style. A new employee without any documents would have to ask about everything. With your documents and data, he can get right to work.
What you can give him. Anything that matters for your work and that you want his help with going forward, for example:
The folders you want him to work with · your brand book with logos and fonts · price lists and past quotes · templates and sample letters · customer folders · presentations and texts you like.
4 ways to share your documents with your AI employee
Pick whichever is easiest for you.
1 · In the chat. The easiest way for single files: send him files, photos, and voice messages directly on WhatsApp or Telegram.
2 · In a cloud folder. For everything that keeps coming in. He creates a folder called “My AI employee” and sends you the link. Whatever you put in it shows up on his end shortly after. It works the same way with OneDrive, Dropbox, or iCloud Drive.
“Set up a Google Drive folder for me.”
3 · By USB stick or hard drive. For large amounts, like your entire archive. Plug the stick straight into his Mac mini.
“I’ve plugged a USB stick into you. Copy everything over to your files and tell me what’s on it.”
4 · Over your network. For the folders on the computer you work at in your office. Nothing has to move: you share the folders once, and from then on he always sees the latest version. How that works is explained right below.
“I’d like to share the [name] folder on my computer with you. Walk me through it step by step.”
How the network option works
Your AI employee and your work computer are connected to the same router. To give him access to your folders, you open the door for him once. It takes a few minutes, and he walks you through it step by step.
1 · Share. On your computer, turn on file sharing and choose which folders he’s allowed to see. On a Mac, you’ll find this in System Settings under “Sharing”; on Windows, in the folder’s Properties on the “Sharing” tab.
2 · Connect. He connects to your computer from his Mac mini. For that, he needs your computer’s name and the login details for the shared folders, just once. He’ll tell you exactly what he needs.
3 · Done. From then on, he always works with the latest version of your folders. Your computer just needs to be switched on for that.
Share each folder one by one, or the whole computer? Neither. If you share a parent folder, like “Company” or your Documents folder, he automatically sees everything inside it, including all subfolders. There’s no need to share your whole computer: he needs your work documents, not your programs and system files. Our tip: give him the one folder where your company lives.
Step by step: share a folder on a Mac or on Windows.
Open the guide5 · Give him access
Why? Some things he takes care of right where you’d otherwise be clicking yourself: in your email account, your cloud folder, or a supplier’s portal. For that, like any employee, he needs a login.
Send him the login details in your WhatsApp or Telegram chat with him. He stores them securely on his computer, right there at your place, uses them only for your tasks, and never passes them on, not even to us. You can take away any access at any time: change the password, let him know, done.
6 · Save the Doctor’s number
Why? Your AI employee has his own Doctor. The Doctor is a full AI employee in his own right, but with just one job: looking after your AI employee. He runs on a separate computer, keeps a finger on his pulse around the clock, and is entirely focused on finding and fixing problems. He catches a lot before you even notice.
The Doctor has his own number. We’ll send it to you along with your AI employee’s number. Save it right away, ideally as “HUNDREDHANDS Doctor.” That way you’ll have it when you need it.
If something gets stuck. Even the best employee has an off day. If he doesn’t reply, stops in the middle of a task, or something just seems odd to you, here’s what to do:
1 · Switch to your second channel. If he doesn’t respond on WhatsApp, write to him on Telegram, or the other way around. If he answers there, ask him right away to run a diagnosis: “You’re not answering on WhatsApp. Please check what’s causing it.” He often finds the problem himself.
2 · Start fresh with /new. Send “/new” in the chat as a message of its own, with no other text. That starts a fresh conversation, and everything he has memorized stays put. When and how to do it is covered in Chapter 9.
3 · Ask the Doctor. If that doesn’t help, or you’re not sure whether something’s wrong: write to the Doctor. In plain words, ideally with a screenshot and the time it happened.
“I have a problem with my AI employee: [what’s happening, since when]. Please take a look at him and get it fixed.”
Then the Doctor gets to work. He takes a close look at your AI employee, checks his pulse, and makes sure he’s fit and performing at his best. He makes a diagnosis, treats whatever is ailing him, and reports back to you: what was wrong, what he did, and where things stand now.
You: My AI employee hasn’t answered on WhatsApp for half an hour. Please take a look at him.
Doctor: Done. The connection to WhatsApp had dropped. I restarted it and sent a test message, and he’s answering again. Your tasks from this morning are still running.
Better to write once too early than to wait an hour. That’s what he’s there for, and he’s included in your package.
4 · Neither one answering? If neither your AI employee nor the Doctor responds, on any channel, that’s an outage. Outages always come first for us: reach out through one of these channels, ideally with your company, since when, and which channel you tried.
Good to know. Always leave the computer on, even if something isn’t working. Otherwise the Doctor can’t see what happened. You don’t need to send the Doctor any passwords or documents. All he needs is your description of the problem, and then he fixes it. He doesn’t take on any tasks himself; that’s what your AI employee is for. If the power or internet goes out at your office, it affects both computers. As soon as both are back, they pick up where they left off.
Tip: Set up both channels, WhatsApp and Telegram, for your AI employee and for the Doctor. That way you always have a second way to reach them.
You did it. Your new employee is on board. Now you’ll learn how the two of you can become a truly great team.