Agents

An agent is an assistant set up for a particular job: it knows which knowledge bases, data and tools to use, and how to answer. Contoso, for example, has an HR assistant for leave and allowance questions, a Sales assistant for the product catalog and price policy, and a Data analyst for figures from the ERP. Genie itself is the default assistant that sends each question to the right place. This page shows how to find agents, use one for a conversation or a single message, and what you see when agents work together.

Genie, the default assistant

Every new conversation starts with Genie, unless your workspace chose another default. Genie has three modes, which you pick in the agent list (see below):

Mode	When to use it
Automatic	Most of the time. Genie picks the sources for each question: documents, databases, Power BI, the web or a specialist agent
Fast	Quick look-ups in the documents
Deep	Comparisons, analysis and tasks in several steps

When Genie hands a question to a specialist agent, the note at the top of the answer says so, for example Asked HR assistant.

See the agents you can use

1. Click Agents in the sidebar.
2. The Agents page lists the agents you may use, with their Mode (Quick Answer or Smart Reasoning), their Capabilities (for example knowledge bases, web search or skills) and when they were Updated.
3. Use the tabs All, Favorites, Recent, Created by me and Shared with me, or type in Search agents.

The list is grouped: Built-in agents come with Genie, Workspace · View only are your colleagues' agents, and Shared with me · View only are agents shared from other workspaces. Workspace default marks the agent new conversations start with.

Screenshot coming soonThe Agents pagewebsite-docs/public/screenshots/en/agents-list.png

The Agents page

Use an agent for a conversation

From the Agents page:

1. Find the agent and open its ⋯ menu.
2. Click Use in chat. A new conversation starts with that agent.

Or from the message box:

1. Click + (Add photos, files and tools).
2. Point to Agent. The list Select Agent shows Built-in Agents, Custom Agents and Shared to Me.
3. Click the agent. The message box now reads, for example, Ask HR assistant…

The agent stays with the conversation. To change it, pick another one the same way, or start a New chat.

Call an agent for one message with @

Sometimes one question belongs to another department. You can send just that message to another agent, without leaving your conversation:

1. In the message box, type @. The list shows the agents you may use, starting with Genie · Automatic, Genie · Fast and Genie · Deep.
2. Keep typing to filter, for example @sales, and pick the agent with the mouse or with ↑/↓ and Enter.
3. The agent appears as a chip, for example @Sales assistant, above your text (Your next message goes to Sales assistant). Click × on the chip to remove it.
4. Type your question and send.

The answer shows the agent's name and Called with @. Your next message goes back to the conversation's own agent.

Screenshot coming soonCalling an agent with @website-docs/public/screenshots/en/chat-mention.png

Calling an agent with @

While an answer is being written, you cannot call another agent: Wait for the answer to finish before calling another agent.

Agents working together

Some agents may ask other agents for help while they answer. For example, the Sales assistant may ask the HR assistant about the travel allowance for a customer visit. You then see a step in the answer:

• Asking HR assistant… while it waits, then Asked HR assistant;
• Show HR assistant's answer to read what the other agent replied;
• sources marked from HR assistant in the sources list.

The agent that was asked works with your access: it only reads what you may read.

Create your own agent

With the Contributor role or higher, you can create agents for your own work: click Create agent on the Agents page. Your workspace admin decides who may use which agents and which sources they may reach. See Agents and the default assistant.

Good to know

• You only see agents you may use. An agent can be limited to some people, a role or a department. If a colleague mentions an agent you cannot find, ask your workspace admin.
• Agents never widen your access. An agent answers with your permissions: it does not show you documents or data you could not see yourself.
• Shared agents are read-only. You can use an agent shared from another workspace, but not change it. Click it on the Agents page to see its Configuration and where it was Shared from.
• Disabled marks an agent your admin turned off; you cannot use it.
• An agent may not be ready. Not ready. Configure: in the agent list means the agent still needs setting up by its owner.

Related pages

• Ask Genie
• Ask your data
• Code and sandbox
• Agents and the default assistant (for admins)