Custom Agents

Custom agents let you extend Alhena AI with specialized behaviors tailored to your business. Create custom agents when you need functionality beyond what built-in agents provide.

When to Create a Custom Agent

Consider creating a custom agent when you need to:

• Handle specialized queries - Create an agent for a specific domain like warranty claims, technical troubleshooting, or appointment scheduling

• Integrate with custom APIs - Connect to your internal systems or third-party services not covered by built-in integrations

• Implement complex workflows - Define multi-step processes that require specific tools and logic

• Separate concerns - Isolate specific functionality with its own set of guidelines

Creating a Custom Agent

Navigate to AI Settings > Agents and click Create Agent to add a new custom agent.

Name

Choose a descriptive name that clearly identifies the agent's purpose. This name appears in the Agents list and helps you identify the agent when assigning guidelines.

Examples:

• "Warranty Claims Agent"

• "Store Locator Agent"

• "Technical Support Agent"

Description

Write a clear description of what the agent does and when it should be activated. The planner uses this description to route customer queries to the appropriate agent.

Good descriptions:

• "Handles warranty claims and repair requests for products within the warranty period"

• "Helps customers find nearby store locations and check store hours"

• "Provides technical troubleshooting for software installation and configuration issues"

Tips for effective descriptions:

• Be specific about the types of queries this agent should handle

• Mention key topics or keywords the agent should respond to

• Describe what makes this agent different from other agents

Assigning Tools

Tools extend what your agent can do. Select the tools this agent needs to complete its tasks.

Available tool types:

Tool Type	Description	Plan
API Tools	Connect to external HTTP APIs	Pro
MCP Servers	Model Context Protocol integrations	Pro
Sheet Search	Search spreadsheets from your knowledge base	All

See Agent Tools for details on configuring each tool type.

Adding Guidelines

After creating your agent, add guidelines to define its behavior. Guidelines tell the agent how to respond in specific situations.

Navigate to AI Settings > Guidelines to create guidelines, then assign them to your custom agent in the agent assignment field.

See Guidelines for details on creating effective guidelines.

Best Practices

Keep agents focused

Each agent should have a clear, well-defined purpose. If an agent is handling too many different types of queries, consider splitting it into multiple specialized agents.

Write clear descriptions

The planner relies on agent descriptions to route queries correctly. Vague descriptions lead to incorrect routing. Be specific about what the agent handles.

Test routing thoroughly

After creating a custom agent, test various customer queries to ensure they route to the correct agent. Use the playground in your dashboard to verify routing behavior.

Start simple

Begin with a minimal agent configuration and add complexity as needed. It's easier to add guidelines and tools incrementally than to debug an overly complex agent.