diff --git a/agency_swarm/agency/agency.py b/agency_swarm/agency/agency.py
index 537572c3..94c6f23f 100644
--- a/agency_swarm/agency/agency.py
+++ b/agency_swarm/agency/agency.py
@@ -383,7 +383,8 @@ def _init_agents(self):
         There are no output parameters as this method is used for internal initialization purposes within the Agency class.
         """
         for agent in self.agents:
-            agent.id = None
+            if "temp_id" in agent.id:
+                agent.id = None
             agent.add_shared_instructions(self.shared_instructions)
 
             if self.shared_files:
diff --git a/agency_swarm/agents/agent.py b/agency_swarm/agents/agent.py
index bf636423..2dd3b801 100644
--- a/agency_swarm/agents/agent.py
+++ b/agency_swarm/agents/agent.py
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ def __init__(self, id: str = None, name: str = None, description: str = None, in
         Initializes an Agent with specified attributes, tools, and OpenAI client.
 
         Parameters:
-        id (str, optional): Unique identifier for the agent. Defaults to None.
+        id (str, optional): Loads the assistant from OpenAI assistant ID. Assistant will be created or loaded from settings if ID is not provided. Defaults to None.
         name (str, optional): Name of the agent. Defaults to the class name if not provided.
         description (str, optional): A brief description of the agent's purpose. Defaults to None.
         instructions (str, optional): Path to a file containing specific instructions for the agent. Defaults to an empty string.
@@ -94,6 +94,12 @@ def init_oai(self):
         # load assistant from id
         if self.id:
             self.assistant = self.client.beta.assistants.retrieve(self.id)
+            self.instructions = self.assistant.instructions
+            self.name = self.assistant.name
+            self.description = self.assistant.description
+            self.file_ids = self.assistant.file_ids
+            self.metadata = self.assistant.metadata
+            self.model = self.assistant.model
             # update assistant if parameters are different
             if not self._check_parameters(self.assistant.model_dump()):
                 self._update_assistant()
diff --git a/tests/test_agency.py b/tests/test_agency.py
index 06610a97..1776cad7 100644
--- a/tests/test_agency.py
+++ b/tests/test_agency.py
@@ -96,7 +96,24 @@ def test_2_load_agent(self):
 
         self.check_agent_settings(agent3)
 
-    def test_3_agent_communication(self):
+    def test_3_load_agent_id(self):
+        """it should load existing assistant from id"""
+        from test_agents import TestAgent1
+        agent3 = Agent(id=self.__class__.agent1.id)
+        agent3.tools = self.__class__.agent1.tools
+        agent3 = agent3.init_oai()
+
+        print("agent3", agent3.assistant.model_dump())
+        print("agent1", self.__class__.agent1.assistant.model_dump())
+
+        self.assertTrue(self.__class__.agent1.id == agent3.id)
+
+        # check that assistant settings match
+        self.assertTrue(agent3._check_parameters(self.__class__.agent1.assistant.model_dump()))
+
+        self.check_agent_settings(agent3)
+
+    def test_4_agent_communication(self):
         """it should communicate between agents"""
         print("TestAgent1 tools", self.__class__.agent1.tools)
         message = self.__class__.agency.get_completion("Please tell TestAgent1 to say test to TestAgent2.", yield_messages=False)