> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.useinvent.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Agents

> AI teammates that do a job for your team, on a schedule or whenever you ask

An assistant talks to your customers. An agent works for you. You describe a job, like "every morning, read yesterday's conversations and post a short summary to the team", and the agent does it using the apps you connect.

Every time an agent starts work is a **run**. Each run is a chat you can open, read and join.

## When to use an agent

* **Recurring work**: a daily briefing, a weekly report, chasing unpaid invoices.
* **Work started by another app**: a new order or a form reply comes in and the agent handles it.
* **Questions from your team**: mention the agent in a comment and it answers in the same thread.

To decide when an agent works by itself, add [Routines](/agents/routines).

## Create an agent

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open Agents">
    In the sidebar, click **Agents**, then **Create Agent**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Name it and pick a template">
    Give it a **Name** and pick a **Template**, the job to start from. You can change everything later. Prefer a guided setup? Click **Set up step by step**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Write the instructions">
    On the agent's **Settings** tab, fill in **Instructions**. Tell your agent what its job is and how to do it, as you would tell a teammate. Every run follows these instructions.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Test it">
    Click **Test Agent** to try it in a draft conversation. Test runs are not saved to the **Runs** list.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Decide when it runs">
    Open the **Routines** tab and add a schedule, Autopilot or a webhook. See [Routines](/agents/routines). You can also start a run any time with **Run**.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## The agent's tabs

| Tab | What it holds |
| :- | :- |
| **Settings** | Model, instructions, tools and approvals |
| **Actions** | Apps you set up for this agent |
| **Channels** | Where your team can talk to the agent, like WhatsApp, Slack or Telegram |
| **Routines** | When the agent starts work by itself |
| **Runs** | Every run, with its status |
| **Memory** | Notes the agent keeps about its job |

### Settings

* **Model**: the model the agent thinks with on every run.
* **Instructions**: the job, in your own words.
* **Tools**: **Web search** lets the agent search and read the web. **Computer** gives it its own computer to run code and work with files, and **Internet** sets what that computer can reach (**Full**, **Trusted sites** or **Off**). **Run other agents** lets it start, watch and stop other agents. **Memory** lets it keep notes about its job.
* **Approvals**: turn on **Ask before changes** to approve changes before the agent makes them. Routine runs never wait, since nobody is there to answer.

### Actions

You don't have to add apps one by one. On every run the agent can use every app you connect, like Gmail or Google Calendar, and asks you to connect an app the first time it needs one. Add an app on the **Actions** tab only to lock its settings (for example, which sheet it writes to) or to set up one the agent cannot find on its own, like your own API.

### Runs

Each run shows a status: **Running**, **Completed**, **Waiting approval**, **Waiting response**, **Needs a decision**, **Needs a connection**, **Failed** or **Canceled**. Open a run to see what the agent did, or write in it to give more directions.

When a run needs you, it also shows up in [Tasks](/guides/tasks).

## Mention an agent in a comment

Type `@` and the agent's name in a comment on a contact or a table record. The agent starts a run and answers in the same thread.

## Memory

What an agent learns about its job lives on the agent. See or delete it on the agent's **Memory** tab. [Memory](/guides/memory) explains how this differs from contact and user memory.

## FAQ

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="What is the difference between an agent and an assistant?">
    An assistant replies to your customers on your channels. An agent works for your team, doing a job you describe, on a schedule or whenever you ask.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="My agent does nothing when a routine runs">
    Check that the agent has **Instructions**. Every run follows them, so without instructions the agent has nothing to do.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="A run says Needs a connection">
    The agent needs an app you haven't connected yet. Open the run, or [Tasks](/guides/tasks), and connect it. The run continues once it is connected.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What happens when I delete an agent?">
    Its routines stop and it disappears from the list. Past runs stay in your chats.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I copy an agent?">
    Yes. Open the agent's options and duplicate it. The copy is named after the original with "(Copy)".
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>


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