Automation & Phi Link
"Agentic" means Phi's AI can do more than answer questions. It can take action inside the browser, perform tasks for you, and in some cases keep doing so over time. There are three ways it works: act now (on-demand actions), run in the background (background tasks), and run on a schedule (scheduled tasks).
On-demand actions
On-demand actions are tasks the assistant performs when you ask. Instead of describing the steps for you to follow, Phi carries the work out itself, navigating pages, interacting with websites, and completing multi-step jobs, in the current tab or a new one, while you watch it work.
For anything consequential, it does not just go ahead. It pauses and asks you to confirm before acting, with a simple Confirm or Deny prompt flagged by how risky the step is, so you stay in the loop on the actions that matter.
Background tasks
Sometimes you do not want to sit and watch. The agent can turn a request into a task that runs in the background, so it keeps working without tying up your conversation or your attention.
A task:
- starts only when you explicitly ask for it,
- runs on its own, so you can keep browsing or close the conversation,
- pauses and asks you to confirm if it runs into a risky step,
- reports back into the conversation you asked in, see below,
- keeps writing in the language of that conversation. Ask the assistant if you want it in another language.
Scheduled tasks
Scheduled tasks are recurring automations that run on a schedule you define. For example, Phi can monitor a product price every few hours, watch a page for changes, or repeat another browser-based task automatically. They are really background tasks that repeat, kept running by Phi Sentinel even when the browser window is closed. This is where Phi behaves less like a browser with AI features and more like a persistent system that keeps working when you are not watching it.
Watching a page
The quickest way to set one up is to right-click anywhere on a web page (not on selected text or a link) and choose Have [your assistant] watch this page. The sidebar opens with a new conversation, and the assistant reads the page and asks you a few questions, one at a time: why you are watching it, what counts as worth telling you, how often to check, and, if you like, how to report and when to stop.
It then sets up a scheduled task that reports only changes. The first check reports the page as it is now, as a starting point, and later checks speak up only when something has changed. To change, pause, or delete the watch later, ask in the same conversation.
Tasks report back to their conversation
A task created in a conversation posts each completed or failed run back into that conversation, as a reply from the assistant. The conversation is marked unread and moves to the top of your list, and Phi Chat gathers all of these conversations in its Tasks view.
Above each report is a strip with the task's name, the run number, and whether it Completed or Failed. Its … menu has:
- Run now, to run the task again straight away,
- Stop reporting here, so the task keeps running but no longer posts into this conversation. It changes to Resume reporting here once you have used it.
Managing a task
When a conversation has tasks, a clock button with a count appears in its top bar. It opens a panel that shows, for each task:
- its state, such as Running, Active (its schedule is still going), Paused, Stopped (its stop condition was met), Finished, or Manual (it has no schedule),
- its schedule, when it runs next, and when it stops, if it has a stop condition,
- a Report in this conversation switch,
- What to report: Every run, or Only changes, which stays quiet when nothing new turned up. Failures are reported either way.
The task's … menu has Run now, and Pause schedule or Resume schedule.
The panel does not edit or delete tasks. To change what a task does, or to delete it, ask the assistant in the task's conversation, or use the Tasks page in Phi Sentinel.
When Phi was not running
Tasks can only run while Phi is running. If your Mac was off or asleep, or Phi was quit, a run can be missed or cut off. When Phi starts again:
- a task that runs every two hours or more often moves on to its next run, and that run mentions what went unchecked,
- for other tasks, Phi asks in the task's conversation whether to run it once now. The report reads Did not run or Cut off, with Run now and Ignore buttons underneath, and you can also answer in your own words.
The question is withdrawn when the task's next scheduled run comes round, or after a day if it has no schedule.
Notifications
When a report arrives in a conversation you do not have open, Phi can also show a notification card with the task's name and the start of the report. The card is Phi's own, not a macOS notification. It does this only when the report looks worth interrupting you for, so a check that found nothing new stays quiet. View details opens the conversation in Phi Chat.
Staying in control
The agent is built to act with your knowledge, not behind your back. It asks you to confirm before consequential actions, tasks start only when you ask for them and pause for confirmation on risky steps, and you can pause a task's schedule, stop it reporting, or ask the assistant to change or delete it at any time. For where your data lives and how the AI is handled, see Privacy & Your Data.
What the agent does under your instruction is done as you, from your browser, with your accounts. Some sites do not welcome automation. Reddit is the well-known example, where accounts detected as automated get restricted or banned. If a task works through a site like that, that risk sits with you.
Phi Sentinel
Scheduled tasks need to keep running even when the browser window is closed. Phi Sentinel is the background app in the macOS menu bar that makes that possible, and it also hosts Private AI, the option to run some AI on your own Mac. See Phi Sentinel for the full picture.
Phi Link
Phi Link connects Phi to Telegram so you can use your assistant from your phone and get updates when you are away from your Mac. With it you can:
- chat with your assistant from your phone,
- get the results of completed task runs,
- continue workflows away from the browser.
The official Phi Link bot has been retired. To use Phi from Telegram, connect your own Telegram bot. You can choose its name and avatar.
Set up your bot
- Open @BotFather in Telegram and follow its instructions to create a bot. Copy the Bot Token it gives you.
- Sign in to Phi and open Settings → Phi & AI → Phi Link.
- In Custom Telegram bot, paste your token, verify it, and save.
- Open your bot in Telegram and send a message to test the connection.
Your bot is for your personal use. Do not share it with others or invite others to use it. Keep your Bot Token private. If verification fails, check the token and the error shown in settings. A webhook conflict can mean another app is already using the bot.
If you used the official bot
Create and configure your own bot using the steps above. Once you have tested it, you can unlink the old official bot in settings. Unlinking the official bot does not remove your custom bot.
Check the connection
Linked means the bot service is running. Send a message in Telegram to check that you can receive a reply. If you need to replace the bot, remove the current bot in settings and add the new one.