For a very long time I have observed that when you attach a file to the assistant, it works fine!
Nonetheless, if you provide tools to call, it stops searching the file for answering question. Which is a nice feature. You can provide a database of information using a PDF, a manual, a tutorial.
I have a PDF with instructions, and a set of functions to call.
If I provide the functions to call, it will call nicely, but stops searching the file to responses.
I have to deactivate the tools for getting a good response based on the PDF attached.
I have noticed this issue for a long time.
Even though you can provide a file and functions to call, they do not work well together.
More details
I have a student manual, with lessons details. Nonetheless, I have provided also functions to call. Those functions can access my calendar.
Thus, the assistant should first talk to the student, then offer a time to book a lesson.
For instance: if the student enters “I want a first lesson for free”. This information is on the manual. Whenever I provide tools, it will not call the tools, which is correct! However, will not also consult the manual, and should. If I provide no tool, it will consult the manual.
Thus, either I provide a tutorial, or I provide the tools to call. They do not seem to work together nicely.
The best scenario is: the assistant should decide either calling a tool or retrieving info from the tutorial.
Solution
I have created two assistants: one calls the functions, the other just read the student guide. The one that reads the student guide is passed as a function to call, for the first one.
So far, it seems to work as expected.