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Custom Agents

Learn how to create fully custom AI agents with complete control over their behavior, personality, and capabilities.

What are Custom Agents?

While AgentsGT provides pre-built templates (Marketing Consultant, Generalist Assistant, Pre-sales Consultant, Tech Support), custom agents let you build an agent from scratch with your own system prompt, personality, and tool configuration.

When to use custom agents:

  • Your use case doesn't match any template
  • You need precise control over the agent's behavior
  • You want to combine capabilities from multiple templates
  • You need specialized tool configurations

Creating a Custom Agent

Step 1: Start Agent Creation

  1. Navigate to your organization's agents page
  2. Click "Create Agent"
  3. Toggle "Custom Prompt" mode instead of selecting a template

Step 2: Write Your System Prompt

The system prompt is the foundation of your custom agent. It defines everything about how the agent behaves.

A good system prompt includes:

You are [specific role] for [company/context].

Your responsibilities:
- [What the agent should do]
- [What information it should provide]
- [How it should handle common scenarios]

Guidelines:
- [Tone and personality rules]
- [Boundaries and limitations]
- [Response format preferences]

You must NOT:
- [Things the agent should never do]
- [Topics to avoid]
- [Actions that require human escalation]

Example — E-commerce Support Agent:

You are a customer support specialist for TechGadgets, an online electronics store.

Your responsibilities:
- Answer questions about product features, specifications, and compatibility
- Help customers track orders using their order ID
- Process return and exchange requests
- Recommend products based on customer needs and budget

Guidelines:
- Be friendly and professional at all times
- Keep responses concise — under 3 paragraphs unless detailed instructions are needed
- Always ask for the order ID when handling order-related questions
- Suggest related products when appropriate, but don't be pushy

You must NOT:
- Process refunds directly — escalate to human support
- Share other customers' information
- Make promises about future product releases
- Provide medical, legal, or financial advice

Step 3: Configure Settings

Model Selection

Choose the AI model based on your needs:

  • Fast models — Best for quick, simple interactions (FAQ bots, basic support)
  • Creative models — Best for content generation, marketing copy, brainstorming
  • Precise models — Best for technical support, data analysis, accuracy-critical tasks

Language

Set the primary language for the agent. The agent can still understand and respond in other languages if asked, but will default to the selected language.

Tone

Select a conversation tone:

  • Professional — Formal business communication
  • Friendly — Warm and approachable
  • Casual — Relaxed and conversational
  • Concise — Brief, to-the-point responses

Greeting Message

Set the first message users see when starting a conversation:

Hi! I'm your TechGadgets support assistant. I can help you with:
- Product questions and recommendations
- Order tracking
- Returns and exchanges

How can I help you today?

Conversation Starters

Add suggested prompts that users can click to start a conversation:

  • "Track my order"
  • "Help me choose a laptop"
  • "Start a return"

Step 4: Add Knowledge (Optional)

Upload files to give your agent specialized knowledge:

  • Product catalogs (PDF, CSV)
  • Company policies (DOCX, TXT)
  • Technical documentation
  • FAQs and help articles

See Creating Your First Agent for detailed instructions on adding files.

Step 5: Configure Tools

Enable or disable specific tools for your agent:

  • Web Search — Allow the agent to search the web for current information
  • Image Generation — Let the agent create images
  • RAG (File Search) — Enable the agent to search uploaded documents
  • Google Drive — Access files from connected Google Drive

Toggle only the tools your agent needs to keep responses focused.

Step 6: Advanced Settings

Custom Slug

Create a URL-friendly identifier for your agent. This is used in API endpoints and embed URLs:

  • Use lowercase letters and hyphens
  • Keep it short and descriptive
  • Example: tech-support, sales-bot, onboarding-helper

Additional Instructions

Add supplementary instructions that extend the system prompt. Use this for:

  • Seasonal updates ("We're running a 20% off sale this month")
  • Temporary changes ("Our New York office is closed for renovation")
  • Context that changes frequently

Testing Your Custom Agent

After creating your agent:

  1. Go to the agent's detail page
  2. Use the built-in chat interface to test
  3. Try various scenarios:
    • Common questions your users would ask
    • Edge cases and unusual requests
    • Questions outside the agent's scope
    • Multi-turn conversations

Iterate based on results:

  • If the agent is too verbose → Add "Keep responses concise" to your system prompt
  • If the agent hallucinates → Add "If you don't know, say so" and upload more context files
  • If the agent goes off-topic → Add clear boundaries in the "You must NOT" section
  • If the tone is wrong → Adjust the tone setting or add tone instructions to the prompt

Best Practices

  1. Start specific, then broaden — Begin with a narrow scope and expand as you test
  2. Use examples in your prompt — Show the agent how you want it to respond
  3. Set clear boundaries — Define what the agent should NOT do
  4. Keep context relevant — Only upload files the agent needs
  5. Test with real scenarios — Use actual customer questions for testing
  6. Iterate frequently — Refine the prompt based on real conversations

What's Next?