AI Agents: Configure a focused AI Agent
What is it?
A Specialist is a focused AI Agent that handles one specific area of a customer conversation — shipping, returns, product questions, technical support, appointments. Each Specialist has its own instructions, tools, Knowledge Base sources, and guardrails, so it can stay accurate within its area rather than trying to do everything.
You can use a Specialist in two ways:
- Standalone: add it directly to a flow and use it without a Router.
- With a Router: add it to a Router, so the Router can transfer relevant conversations to it.
Who can use it
Specialists are built in Flow Builder, so they're available to users with Flow Builder access (organization admins).
Add a Specialist
- Open your bot in Flow Builder.
- Open the build panel.
- Add a Specialist node, or create one from an AI Agent Router.
- Open the Specialist's edit panel.
- Configure the Main, Tools, Knowledge, and Guardrails tabs.
- Connect the Specialist to the relevant flow path.
Use a Specialist without a Router
A Specialist doesn't require a Router. To use one independently, add a Specialist node directly to your flow, configure its Main, Tools, Knowledge, and Guardrails tabs, connect it to the relevant flow path, then publish and test.
Good to know: When a Specialist is used directly (not through a Router), its own guardrails are applied to incoming messages. This is different from routed conversations — see AI Agents: Set up guardrails.
Configure the Main tab
The Main tab contains Instructions, Model, and Verbosity.
Instructions
Use instructions to define the Specialist's purpose, what it's responsible for, its tone and communication style, how it should handle uncertainty, when it should ask clarifying questions, and when it should stop or transfer the conversation. For example:
You are a shipping support Specialist. Help customers understand delivery options, shipping costs, tracking information, and delayed shipments. Ask for the order number when necessary. Do not answer questions about refunds or product defects. If the answer isn't available in the configured tools or Knowledge Base sources, say so clearly.
Instructions support rich text and Markdown, including headings, lists, links, and variables.
Model
Select the language model that powers the Specialist. The models in the list are the ones available to your organization, and they are not all the same.
- GDPR compliant — the model meets the EU General Data Protection Regulation. Choose one of these when your organization handles personal data of people in the EU.
- This model is not GDPR compliant — the model does not meet that regulation. Use it only if your organization operates outside the EU, or if your organization has explicitly approved its use.
- This model has limited availability — the model is hosted in a single location. If that location goes down, a backup language model takes over automatically so the Specialist can keep responding. Models that do not show this warning are hosted in more than one location. If the location in use goes down, the same model is tried in another location. If that also fails, a backup language model takes over.
A model can show both warnings together: This model is not GDPR compliant and has limited availability.
Verbosity
Verbosity controls how detailed the Specialist's responses are: Low for short answers, Medium for balanced detail, High for more detailed explanations and step-by-step guidance.
Note: Models in the GPT-4 family only support medium verbosity.
Configure tools
The Tools tab lists the tools available to this bot. Those tools are not created in Flow Builder. A bot developer adds each one in the bot's custom code, and it shows up here only after that version of the bot is deployed. If the code does not include any tools, the tab says There are currently no tools available.
Once a tool is available, it can let the Specialist retrieve information, query external systems, perform actions, access business data, or run an integration the developer has set up.
- Open the Tools tab.
- Find the tool you want to use.
- Turn it on.
- Review its description and arguments.
Only enable the tools the Specialist needs — giving an agent unnecessary tools makes its behavior harder to control. If a previously selected tool is no longer available, it's shown as unavailable; remove it, or restore it in the bot configuration.
Configure Knowledge sources
The Knowledge tab is where the Specialist uses the Knowledge Base. It searches only the sources you add here, and it looks them up before it answers.
- Open the Knowledge tab.
- Click Add sources.
- Use Search sources to find a source.
- Select one or more sources.
- Click Add.
Match the sources to what the Specialist is responsible for. A shipping Specialist should use shipping and delivery sources. A returns Specialist should use returns and refund sources.
If Add sources cannot be used, the tooltip says: Update the bot's code to add sources. Update the bot code, then open the Specialist again.
If a selected source was deleted, the list shows This source no longer exists, and the Specialist reports Source no longer exists. Remove it and add a source that is still available. See Knowledge base: Add sources.
Guardrails on a Specialist
The Specialist has a Guardrails tab for restricting user inputs before they reach the agent. Guardrails are covered in full in their own article, but one rule is important enough to state here:
Important: When a conversation is handled through a Router, the Specialist's guardrails are not applied — only the Router's guardrails run. Use Specialist guardrails when the Specialist is standalone, and put always-on restrictions for routed conversations on the Router. See AI Agents: Set up guardrails.
Use a Specialist with a Router
- Add the Specialist to the Router's Specialists tab.
- Write a clear description of when the Router should transfer to it.
- Connect the Specialist to the correct flow path.
- Configure the Specialist's instructions, tools, and Knowledge Base sources.
- Configure routing-related guardrails on the Router.
- Test requests that should and shouldn't be transferred.
The Router uses the Specialist's trigger description to decide when to transfer; the Specialist's instructions determine how it handles the conversation afterward. Keep these two separate: the description explains when to transfer, the instructions explain how to help.
Specialist context
A Specialist may receive additional context to give more relevant responses, including the current date, contact information fields, campaign context (when available), conversation context (25 previous messages), knowledge retrieved through selected sources, and results from enabled tools.
Validate your Specialist
Before publishing, test a normal request within scope, a request outside its scope, an ambiguous request, a request requiring a tool, a question requiring a Knowledge Base source, a follow-up question, and a request that should be blocked by a guardrail.
Bot code compatibility
If the editor shows "Bot code is out of date," update the bot code before editing the affected configuration. Some AI Agent settings may be read-only until the bot is updated.
Best practices
- Give each Specialist one clear responsibility, and keep instructions specific and actionable.
- State what the Specialist must not handle.
- Use Knowledge sources that match its scope, and enable only the tools it needs.
- Ask for missing information instead of guessing, and explain what to do when an answer is unavailable.
- Use guardrails for sensitive or unsupported topics.
- When using routed Specialists, put shared restrictions on the Router.
Example Specialist configuration
Name: Shipping Specialist
Instructions:
You are a shipping support Specialist. Help customers with delivery options, shipping costs, tracking, and delayed shipments. Ask for an order number when necessary. Use the available tools and Knowledge Base sources to provide accurate information. Do not guess. If the information is unavailable, explain that clearly and offer to connect the customer with support.
Knowledge sources: Shipping policy, Delivery times, Tracking instructions.
Tools: Order lookup, Shipment tracking.
Standalone guardrail. Name: unsupported-topic. Description: Block questions unrelated to shipping and delivery. If this Specialist is used through a Router, move this restriction to the Router's Guardrails tab.