Tools
Tools extend what your AI agents can do beyond conversation. While a base agent can only respond with text, tools enable actions: searching your documents, creating files, browsing the web, connecting to external services, and more.
How Tools Work
When you enable a tool on an agent, you're giving the AI permission to use that capability during conversations. The AI decides when a tool would be helpful based on the user's request—you don't need to explicitly trigger tools.
For example, if you enable the Web Search tool and a user asks "What are the latest developments in renewable energy?", the AI recognizes it should search the web and does so automatically, incorporating the results into its response.
Available Tools
Document & Content Tools
Create Artifact generates editable documents within the conversation—reports, code files, structured content that users can refine and download.
Edit Artifact lets the AI modify existing artifacts based on user feedback, creating version history along the way.
PDF Generation produces formatted PDF documents from content, useful for creating downloadable reports or official documents.
Knowledge & Search Tools
Search Knowledge Base queries your uploaded documents to find relevant information. Essential for agents that need to answer questions using your organization's specific content.
Web Search searches the internet for current information. Helpful for questions that require up-to-date facts or broader context than your internal documents provide.
URL Content extracts and reads content from specific web pages. Useful when users provide links or when agents need information from known sources.
Media Processing Tools
Transcribe Audio converts audio files to text, enabling users to upload recordings and have the AI process spoken content.
Describe Image analyzes uploaded images and provides descriptions, useful for accessibility, content cataloging, or visual analysis workflows.
Meeting Bot can join video meetings to transcribe and summarize discussions, capturing action items and key points automatically.
Integration Tools
ClickUp Tasks and ClickUp Docs connect your agents to ClickUp workspaces, enabling task management and document access directly from conversations.
Gmail Search and Gmail Message provide email capabilities—searching messages, reading content, and sending replies.
Fireflies accesses meeting transcripts from Fireflies.ai, letting agents search and reference past conversations.
Utility Tools
Dynamic Forms requests additional structured input from users mid-conversation, useful when agents need specific information to proceed.
Set Chat Name automatically names conversations based on content, keeping chat history organized.
Sub-Agents calls other agents as tools, enabling specialized agents to handle specific parts of complex workflows.
Enabling Tools on Your Agent
- Open your agent in the editor
- Navigate to the Tools section
- Click Add Tool and select the tool you want
- Configure any required settings (like selecting which knowledge base to search)
- Save your agent
Some tools require external integrations to be configured first. For example, Gmail tools need a connected Gmail account, and ClickUp tools need ClickUp workspace access.
Tool Configuration
Knowledge Base Search
When adding this tool, you'll select which knowledge base the agent should search. You can add multiple instances to search different knowledge bases, giving each a custom name that helps the AI choose appropriately.
Meeting Bot
Configure the bot's display name and avatar for when it joins meetings. You can also set an entry message that appears when the bot joins.
Sub-Agents
Select which agent to invoke and describe when it should be used. The AI will call the sub-agent when it determines that specialized help would be valuable.
Best Practices
Start Minimal
Each tool adds complexity to your agent's decision-making. Start with just the tools you know you need, then add more based on actual usage patterns. An agent with three well-configured tools often performs better than one with ten.
Match Tools to Purpose
Choose tools that align with your agent's intended use. A customer support agent might need knowledge base search and dynamic forms, while a research assistant might benefit more from web search and URL content extraction.
Configure Before Enabling
For integration tools, make sure the underlying integration is properly set up and tested before enabling the tool on your agent. This prevents confusing errors during conversations.
Consider the User Experience
Tools are visible to users—they'll see when the AI is searching, creating documents, or accessing external services. This transparency is valuable, but also means long-running operations (like complex web searches) will show as in-progress in the chat.
Detailed Tool Guides
For in-depth information on specific tool categories, see:
- Artifact Tools — Creating and editing documents
- Knowledge Base Tools — Searching your uploaded content
- Media Tools — Processing audio, images, and meetings
- Integration Tools — Working with external services
- Utility Tools — Helper capabilities and automation