Overview

CYPHER Agent is an indispensable tool that uses the power of AI to save you and your organization time when performing everyday tasks. CYPHER Agent is focused on helping you create content, assessments, gamification, skills and skills mapping.  

Note: Check the Product News page for updates as new CYPHER Agent functionality becomes available!

The CYPHER Agent philosophy

CYPHER Agent was implemented according to the following guiding principles:

• CYPHER Agent is designed to help people, not replace people. CYPHER Agent takes care of 80% of a task so that you can focus on the remaining 20% that has the highest value. 
• No knowledge of AI is needed to use CYPHER Agent. It’s a simple user interface that asks you a few questions related to the task and then CYPHER Agent takes care of the rest. 
• CYPHER Agent can help build every part of a course, from course outlines, curriculum, and content to assessments (quizzes, essays, and more), rubrics, gamification, skills and skill mapping.
• While CYPHER Agent creates the majority of the content, courses still require human interaction. All content created by CYPHER Agent needs to be reviewed for accuracy and is presented in the proper context. You can edit and/or delete anything that CYPHER Agent generates to suit the needs of your course. In addition to content, all media items (video, images, etc.) need to be reviewed for the appropriate licenses for third party usage. Please review our legal disclaimer regarding content and media created by CYPHER Agent.
• No proprietary data uploaded to CYPHER Agent is used to train or improve AI models.

CYPHER Agent Credits

Each CYPHER Agent action uses anywhere from two credits (to create skills) up to 500 credits (to create a full course with skills, modules, sections, assessments, rubrics, glossary, study guide, and gamification).

1. When the available number of credits is zero, no further CYPHER Agent tasks can be performed until you are assigned additional credits.

Estimating credit usage

Below are estimates on credits used and time spent to complete a number of CYPHER Agent tasks:

Accessing CYPHER Agent

1. Click the floating icon to open CYPHER Agent.
   

1. Your available credits display in the upper right hand corner.
   
2. Depending where you access CYPHER Agent (outside of a course or inside an existing course), the available options will vary. 

Creating with CYPHER Agent

Adding a new course or class

CYPHER for business defaults to the term course. CYPHER for academia defaults to the term class. The terms course and class are interchangeable in this article.

To add a course or class using CYPHER Agent:

1. Click the CYPHER Agent floating icon.
   
2. Click Add a course.
   

1. Enter a course name.
   
2. Select a course style: Instructor, Blended, Self paced, or Micro.
   
3. Enter a course duration.
   
4. Select an organization for the course.
   
5. Click Save.
   

General

The General section is automatically expanded with your new course information.

1. Topic: The topic that the course should cover.
   
1. Note: The topic is often not the same as the name of the course. For example, if the name of the course is "A refresher about HTML", the topic would be "HTML". 
   

1. Author persona: This setting determines the stylistic tone of voice that should be used when generating course content. The default is "Thoughtful educator", but can be set to any of the following values:
   
1. Thoughtful educator: Clear and concise, with a focus on breaking down complex ideas into easily understandable parts. Can utilize analogies and real-world examples to illustrate concepts.
   
2. Traditional educator: Focus on traditional teaching methods, using lectures and textbooks, and adhering to a strict curriculum.
   
3. Scholarly educator: A deeply knowledgeable expert who focuses on the theoretical and academic aspects of the subject. Content is delivered with precision and an emphasis on research.
   
4. Storyteller: Use of narratives, anecdotes, and storytelling techniques to make complex subjects more relatable and engaging.
   
5. Practical expert: Emphasis on real-world applications and hands-on experience, providing practical exercises, and industry insights.
   
6. Inspirational motivator: Use of motivational speeches and success stories to inspire and encourage students to pursue their dreams.
   
7. Entrepreneurial thinker: Focus on business skills, innovation, and entrepreneurship, providing case studies and business insights.
   
8. Philosophical thinker: Encourage deep thinking, reflection, and philosophical discussion on ethical, social, or existential topics.
   
9. Friendly mentor: A friendly and approachable tone, and encourages students to ask questions and engage in discussions.
   
10. Entertainer: Engaging and lively that makes learning fun by using humor, storytelling, and interactive activities, keeping students entertained while they learn.
    
11. Science enthusiast: Passion for scientific inquiry and exploration of subjects through experimentation, observation, and evidence-based learning.
    
12. Futuristic thinker: Forward-looking and visionary that explores emerging trends and future possibilities, encouraging students to prepare for what's next.
    

1. Level: The difficulty level of the course. The default is set to "Any", with other options being Beginner, Intermediate, or Advanced.
   

1. Audience: The age of the intended audience. The default is set to Adults, with other options being Young children, Teenagers, or Seniors.
   

1. Writing style: The writing style to be used for the content. By default this is set to Professional, with the other options being Formal, Casual, Academic, and Humorous.
   

1. Additional instructions (optional): This field can be used to add a course syllabus, outline, etc. This field allows you to add specific information on how you want the course to be created. 
   

1. Language: Select the language to be used for the course.
   

1. Generation mode: Generation mode allows you to choose how the course will be generated.
   
1. All at once: Selecting All at once generates the entire course in one go, so you can review the finished course after it's fully created.
   
2. Step by step: Selecting Step by step guides you through the course creation process, letting you review and adjust skills, modules, and sections as they are built. This process is explained in more detail later in this article.

1. Generate course and tile images using AI?: By default, course and tile imagery will use images from the internet. If you enable this option, these images will be created by AI instead.
   

1. Image Style: If you enable AI generated course and tile imagery, the Image style field appears.
   
1. Click the Image style dropdown arrow to select the style of image to be used for the new AI image(s).
   

1. Micro-learning format?: By default, content pages are long-form and include multiple paragraphs of text, images, and/or videos. If the micro-learning format option is enabled, content pages will be short-form with one image column and one text column per section.
   

1. Generate section voiceover: If you enable micro-learning format, the Generate section voiceover option appears.

1. If you select Yes, a dropdown menu appears with a variety of voiceover options.
   
1. Click Play to sample the voiceover options.
   
2. Select the radio button of your preferred voiceover.
   
2. Auto play voiceover: After selecting a voiceover, you can enable or disable automatically playing the voiceover.
   

1. Access a section within the course.
   
2. Update the section text.
3. Click the Re-generate audio icon.
   
1. Tip: If you ever have issues with the voiceover on your course, utilize the Re-generate audio button to generate a fresh audio track.
   

Custom data

CYPHER Agent allows you to upload custom data to be used when creating a course. CYPHER Agent can pull text and images from the files you upload during this part of the process.

1. Click the Custom data dropdown arrow to expand the section.
   

1. Select the Yes radio button.
   
2. Click + Add attachment to add a file.
   
1. Attachments can include videos, PowerPoint files, Word files, and PDFs. 
   
2. The file formats supported are .txt, .pdf, .doc, .docx, .ppt, .pptx and .mp4. 
   
3. When uploading PDFs, there are two limitations:
   
1. The file size can not exceed 100 MB.
   
2. The page limit per PDF is 400 pages.
   

1. Use the tabs to select the file, drag and drop a file, or click click to browse.
   

1. Click the Restrict to provided content? checkbox if you would like CYPHER Agent to build the course only only using the custom data provided.
   

1. Select or deselect the following options for your course:
   
1. Extract competencies: Extract course skills from the provided custom data.
   
2. Extract module outline: Create a module outline based on the provided custom data.
   
3. Extract section content: Create content for each section based on the provided custom data.
   

Note - When using custom data, the generated assessments will use the content in the associated module, ensuring that the assessments are always relevant to the module.

Tip: CYPHER Agent wants to give you what you ask for when creating a course. When using custom data in your request, we recommend uploading targeted and specific content to help guide CYPHER Agent to the most relevant topics for your course.

Please note, no proprietary data uploaded to CYPHER Agent is used to train or improve AI models.

Skills

To set skill requirements for your course:

1. Click the Skills dropdown arrow.
   
2. Select between New or Existing skills.
   
1. If you select new skills, indicate how many skills should be generated. The default number is 20.
   
2. Note: The minimum number of skills allowed is five and the maximum is 30.
   

1. If you select to reuse existing skills, click Add from library.
   

1. Select skills from an existing library.
   
1. Use the filters at the top of the popup to browse skills libraries.
   

1. Select the existing skills to include with your course.
2. Click Submit.
   

1. Click Add from Library to add additional skills as needed.
   

Content

To set up how content will be organized and displayed in your course:

1. Click the Content dropdown arrow.
   
2. Select how many modules or lessons should be created for the course.
   
1. Note: There is a minimum of five and a maximum of 20 modules per course.
   

CYPHER for business defaults to the term modules. CYPHER for academia defaults to the term lessons. The terms modules and lessons are interchangeable in this article.

1. Crosscheck content with another AI: Select Yes if you would like to verify the information generated by CYPHER Agent using another AI system.
   
1. When enabled, crosscheck will verify the information pulled from the first AI system against another AI to verify accuracy.
   

1. If the content has been verified as correct, a "Crosschecked and the information was confirmed to be accurate" message will display.
   
1. Click X to close the message.
   

1. If discrepancies are found, a "Crosschecked and a few inaccuracies were found See more" message will display.
   
1. Click See more to review the issues found.
   

1. The Crosscheck details pop-up displays.
   
2. You can choose to Apply or Dismiss the replacement text by clicking the appropriate button.
   
1. If you select Apply, please note that anything under “Replacement text” will replace the text found to be inaccurate. Please review the content and edit as needed.
   

1. Include Images: Select Yes to have images from Google added to the course.
   
1. If you have uploaded custom data files, CYPHER Agent will include images from your files in addition to images from Google.
2. Include Videos: Select Yes to have videos added from YouTube. 

1. Include glossary at the end?: Determine if you would like to include an optional glossary at the end of the course.
   
2. Include study guide at the end?: Determine if you would like to include an optional study guide at the end of the course. 
   

Modules

To set up how modules or lessons will be configured in your course:

1. Click the Modules dropdown arrow.
   
2. Select how many pages of content you would like per module.
   
1. Note: There is a minimum of two pages and a maximum of five. Three pages is the system default.
   

1. Freeform assessment: Determine if you would like to include freeform (or essay) assessments.
   
2. If you select Yes, indicate whether or not to use a rubric.
   
1. Note: Currently rubrics cannot be created in Arabic.
   

1. Quiz assessment: Determine if you would like to include quiz assessments in the module.
   
2. If you select Yes, a new series of prompts displays.
   
1. Multiple choice questions: Select how many multiple choice questions to create for the module.
   
2. Fill in the blank questions: Select how many fill in the blank questions to create for the module.
   
3. True or false questions: Select how many true or false questions to create for the module.
   
1. Note: The number of individual question types allowed when creating a quiz assessment ranges from a minimum of zero to a maximum of 50.
   

1. Individual project assessment: Determine if you would like to add an optional individual project assessment.
   
2. Group project assessment: Determine if you would like to add an optional group project assessment.
1. If you click Yes for individual or group project assignments, you can select to add a rubric.
   
1. Note: Currently rubrics cannot be created in Arabic.
   

Gamification

1. Click the Gamification dropdown arrow.
   
2. Gamify?: Select Yes to add gamification to your course. Gamification adds fun level names, customized badges for each level, and automation rules so points are awarded when each module is completed.
   
1. Note that the Gamify setting defaults to No. 
   

1. The CYPHER Agent disclaimer screen displays.
   
1. Read through all points about CYPHER Agent.
   
2. Review the estimated credits needed to complete the task and the current number of credits available.
   
1. If you do not have enough credits to complete the task, a warning will appear and the Create button will be disabled.
   
3. Click Create.

After you click Create, you are redirected to the CYPHER Agent status page. The CYPHER Agent status page provides details of each step in the process.

1. If you selected the course to be generated all at once, each section will be completed and you will be provided with a notification when the course is complete.
   
1. If you selected the course to be generated step by step, the CYPHER Agent status page will pause after each section, allowing you to review and edit the course as it's being generated. This will be explained later in the article.
2. The History table displays at the bottom of the page, indicating the status, time spent, estimated credits, and progress of the current task.  
   

1. Click the link to review the course.
   

If you selected "Step by step" for course generation, skip to the "Reviewing a course using step by step course generation" section of this article.

Reviewing a completed course

Reviewing a course completed by CYPHER Agent is a necessary step in the workflow. It is important to review the information CYPHER Agent gathered to verify if it is the information you are looking for, or if you need to run the task again with different parameters. You should review the content of the course, as well as the skills, assessments, glossary, and study guide (if created).

Please refer to the Legal section of this article for more information.

To review your course:

1. Click the link in the notification message.
   
2. Or click Courses from the left navigation menu and select the course from the flyout menu.
   
3. The course landing page is populated with the requested number of modules, along with a sample image, name, and description for each module.
   

Note - Click details in the Drafted by CYPHER Agent section of the Admin menu on the right side of the screen if you would like to review the details of the course creation.

1. Open each module to review the content created by CYPHER Agent.
   
1. Each module appears in the same format as other courses you have created in the past.
   

Updating images with the Media picker

While reviewing the content generated by CYPHER Agent, you should review each image.

1. Click Replace below the image.
   

1. The Web tab suggests images from Google.
   
1. To view additional images, update the terms in the search term box. New images from Google will display based on the new search terms.
   
2. Click the desired image to preview how it looks on the page.
   
3. When you are satisfied with the new image, click Save.

1. If you uploaded custom data, the Local tab will suggest images from the uploaded documents.
   
1. Click the desired image to preview how it looks on the page.
   
2. When you are satisfied with the new image, click Save.
   

Reviewing a course using step by step course generation

1. Click the CYPHER Agent button.
   
2. Click Add a course.
   
3. Enter a name for the course, select a style, and select an organization.
   
4. Click Save.
   
5. In the General section, under Generation mode, select the Step by step radio button.
   
6. Continue through the prompts and settings to create your course.

1. Click Click to review and then continue to review the skills CYPHER Agent has generated for the course.

1. Review the skills generated by CYPHER agent.
   
2. To remove a skill, select the skill and click Ignore.
   
3. To add back a skill you have removed, select the skill and click Include.
   
4. To learn more about a skill, select the skill and click Learn using AI.
   

1. Click Continue to move to the next step in the course generation process.
   
2. Click Cancel to cancel the course generation.

1. To change a module picture: Hover over a module picture and click the gear icon in the upper right hand corner.
   
2. To edit a module name or description, click the module tile.

1. Select a module name from the left table of contents to interact with the module.
   
2. Click + Add module to add an additional module to the course.
   
3. Click Edit to edit the name, description, or order of the module.
   
4. Click Delete to delete a module.
   
5. Click the Return to modules overview  button to return to the main Modules overview page.

After clicking a section, the individual section page displays. Note that each module and section display on the left menu.

1. Select a section name from the left table of contents to interact with the section.
   
2. Click + Add section to add an additional section to the module.
   
3. Click Edit to edit the name, description, or order of the section.
   
4. Click Delete to delete a section.
   
5. Click the Return to modules overview  button to return to the main Modules overview page.
   

Once you have completed your review of the Section structure:

1. Click Continue to move to the next step in the course generation process.
   
2. Click Cancel to cancel the course generation.
   

CYPHER Agent then generates the Section content. In this example, this is the last step in the course generation process.

1. Click the Course title in the Item column to review the completed course.
   
1. You will also receive a notification when the course is complete.
   
2. To learn more about reviewing a completed course, access the "Reviewing a completed course" section in this article.

Adding content to an existing course

To add additional modules to an existing course:

1. Access the course.
   
2. Click the CYPHER Agent floating icon.
   
3. Click Add one or more modules.
   

The CYPHER Agent task screen opens directly to the General tab.

1. Complete each section based on the type of module you would like to add.
   
1. Visit the General topic above for details on each section.
   

There is one difference to the CYPHER Agent workflow when creating new modules for an existing course:

1. In the skills section, you must select from one or more skills that are currently associated with the course.
   

Adding a glossary

To add a glossary to a course:

1. Access the course.
   
2. Click the CYPHER Agent floating icon.
   
3. Click Add a glossary from the CYPHER Agent menu.
   

 

1. Enter a topic for the glossary.
   
2. Select a level, an audience, and add any additional instructions.
   
3. Select the language to be used for the glossary. The language defaults to the language associated with the course.
4. Click Continue. 
   

The CYPHER Agent disclaimer screen displays.

1. Click Create.
   
2. You will receive a notification when the glossary has been generated. 
   

Adding a study guide

To add a study guide to the course:

1. Access the course.
   
2. Click the CYPHER Agent floating icon.
   
3. Click Add a study guide.
   

1. Enter the topic for the study guide.
   
2. Select a level, audience, and add any additional instructions.
   
3. Select the language to be used for the study guide. The language defaults to the language associated with the course.
   
4. Click Continue.
   

1. Click Create.
   
2. You will receive a notification when the study guide has been generated.
   

Adding a game

To add a game to the course:

1. Access the course.
   
2. Click the CYPHER Agent floating icon.
3. Click Add a Game.
   

1. Name the game.
   
2. Select how learners will level up through the game.
3. Click Save.
   

1. Enter the topic.
   
2. Determine the number of levels needed for the game.
   
3. Select the language to be used for the game. The language defaults to the language associated with the course.
   
4. Click Continue.
   

1. Click Create.
   
2. You will receive a notification when the CYPHER Agent game has been created.
   

Individual CYPHER Agent information

You can view your CYPHER Agent tasks, remaining credits, and additional information from your profile.

1. Click your profile picture.
   
2. Click CYPHER Agent from the left navigation menu.
   

The CYPHER Agent page displays.

1. Credits: View your purchased, used, and available credits.
   
2. Task summary: View the total number of CYPHER Agent tasks you have created and associated credit usage.
   
3. History: View a list of the CYPHER Agent tasks you have created with links, status, time spent, credits, and progress.

Best Practices

Below are best practices to help you get the most out of your CYPHER Agent experience.

• Course topic 
  
• When using CYPHER Agent to create a new course, the course topic is often different from the course name.
  
• For example, if the course name is "A Refresher on HTML", the best topic name would be "HTML".
  
• Utilize the Additional instructions area of the CYPHER Agent task menu to include additional phrases to help improve the content results.
  
• For example, "assume that students have taken a similar course before and need a refresher".

• Course theming
  
• If you would like your course to have a theme, you can use the Additional instructions area in the CYPHER Agent task menu when creating a new course.
  
• For example, "Use a Barbie theme" or "Use a Marvel Avengers theme". 
  
• It is recommended that you select AI-generated tile imagery when specifying a theme, as CYPHER Agent might have difficulty finding the appropriate imagery.
  

• Number of modules
  
• When possible, select the default number of modules/competencies/etc. to produce the best results. If the number of modules/competencies/etc. varies too much from the default number, there is a chance of an inaccurate number being produced. 
  

• Micro course creation
  
• When using CYPHER Agent to create a micro course, select five content pages per module instead of the normal default of three. because each page contains less content.
  

• Course generation
  
• Every time CYPHER Agent creates a course, it will produce different results, which is a feature rather than a bug. This allows you to use CYPHER Agent to quickly generate multiple versions of a course and then choose which one to use.
  
• Tip: Create three to five versions of a course, quickly review them all, pick the best, and archive the others. 
  

• Using Additional info
  
  • Provide clear, concise, and specific prompts to CYPHER Agent when using the “Additional Info” option to improve accuracy. Use easy-to-understand language and reduce ambiguity in your instructions. 
  • How to write a good prompt for the “Additional Info” option:
    • Action, word, or command
      
    • Make sure your prompt clearly defines a command or task. Start with an action: Generate, Create, Develop, etc. 
      
    • Establish your learning outcomes
      
    • Set specific instructions for CYPHER Agent to understand the desired outcome of your course.  
      
    • Example 1: Explain the main purpose of “Y” process or procedure.  
      
    • Example 2:  Explain how to apply a skill or concept in everyday life or in the workplace.
      
    • Make CYPHER Agent write for your specific industry or organization
      
    • Don’t be afraid to add more details or context; mention the organization’s name or the industry you are creating a course for. 
      
    • Example 1: Build a course about OSHA compliance for healthcare employees.
      
    • Example 2: Generate a course to onboard new employees to Company ABC.
      
    • You’ll be surprised by the results. We have seen our CYPHER Agent generate images of employees wearing the organization’s uniform.
    • Spell out what the acronyms mean
      
    • Because there can be multiple meanings for an acronym, do not assume that AI will understand the appropriate meaning.
      
    • Example: Build a course about the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) compliance.
      
    • Prioritize information from specific websites or follow standards or codes
      
    • Specify the content and point to specific websites, codes, or manuals available online.
      
    • Example: Generate a course about Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) compliance following the Training Requirements in OSHA Standards that are available at: https://www.osha.gov/sites/default/files/publications/osha2254.pdf.

• Monitor credit usage
  
• To save on credits, review the credits used before clicking Create. If the credit usage seems too high, click Back and revise your prompts and the number of lessons, sections, and competencies you have asked CYPHER Agent to create.
  

• Use the AI crosscheck functionality
  
• Utilize the AI cross-checked functionality to ensure the accuracy and quality of the content generated. This feature helps identify and correct errors, providing a more reliable output.
  

Legal

Cypher Learning is not responsible for any Third Party AI Services or the output generated by CYPHER Agent; Customer uses such Third Party AI Services and the output at its own risk. Customer is solely responsible for reviewing any Output prior to its use and exercising its own business and legal judgment as to its suitability for use. CYPHER AGENT IS INTENDED AS AN OUTPUT GENERATION TOOL ONLY AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE ANY WARRANTY OR GUARANTEE THAT THE OUTPUT WILL PROVIDE ACCURATE, TAILORED OR INFORMATIVE RESULTS OR BE FIT FOR THE PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE CASE. CYPHER LEARNING DOES NOT REPRESENT OR WARRANT THAT THE CUSTOMER IS THE LEGAL OWNER OF THE OUTPUT, OR THAT THE INPUT OR OUTPUT ARE PROTECTABLE BY ANY INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS, OR THAT THE OUTPUT DOES NOT INCORPORATE, INFRINGE OR MISAPPROPRIATE THE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OR PROPRIETARY RIGHTS OF ANY THIRD PARTY. CUSTOMER ACKNOWLEDGES THAT THE AI TOOLS LEVERAGE THIRD PARTY AI SERVICES AND THAT CYPHER LEARNING IS NOT LIABLE, AND CUSTOMER AGREES NOT TO SEEK TO HOLD CYPHER LEARNING LIABLE, FOR THIRD PARTY AI SERVICES, AND THAT THE RISK OF INJURY FROM SUCH THIRD PARTY SERVICES RESTS ENTIRELY WITH CUSTOMER. CUSTOMER SHALL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR CUSTOMER’S USE OF THE AI TOOLS AND ANY OUTPUT RESULTING THEREFROM. CUSTOMER SHOULD EVALUATE THE FITNESS OF ANY OUTPUT AS APPROPRIATE FOR CUSTOMER’S SPECIFIC USE CASE.