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Build the First Version

The first version should make one real job visible and testable. It does not need every source, tool, edge case, or future capability.

Step 1: Open AI agents

  1. Enter the workspace.
  2. Select AI agents from the workspace navigation.
  3. Click New.

Step 2: Choose how to start

Use either path:

  • Use a template: Choose a Template, answer the setup questions, and let AI generate a complete draft for review. See Use a Template.
  • Start blank: Enter the first draft directly in Agent Editor. Copilot can help turn your job brief into instructions.

Choose a Template when its work and boundaries resemble yours. Start blank when no Template matches or when you already know the exact behavior you need.

Step 3: Describe the first job

For a blank draft, complete the core fields:

  • Name: A name users and operators can recognize
  • Description: The job the Agent helps complete, not a list of features
  • Instructions: The expected result, questions to ask, sources to use, boundaries to respect, and handoff behavior

You can ask Copilot for help in plain language:

Help me draft an Agent for this recurring job.

Situation:
[Describe one real situation and who needs help.]

Useful result:
[Describe what the Agent should help complete.]

Quality bar:
[Describe what must be true for the result to be acceptable.]

Boundaries:
[Describe what the Agent must not assume or promise, and when a person should take over.]

Write a first version for the Name, Description, and Instructions fields. Keep the scope limited to this job.

Review Copilot's result before applying it. Plain language is acceptable; precise decisions matter more than prompt terminology.

Step 4: Keep the first scope small

Add a Knowledge Base source or tool only when the real situation requires it.

Before creating the Agent, confirm:

  • The first job and expected result are clear.
  • The Agent asks for missing information instead of guessing.
  • Risky or unsupported situations have a safe fallback.
  • Handoff conditions are explicit.
  • The Agent does not invent policies, facts, prices, guarantees, or outcomes.
  • Every enabled tool belongs to the first scope.

Step 5: Click Create

Click Create when the draft is ready to try. After creation, Live Test becomes available. Later edits use Apply; they do not change the published version until you publish again.

What good enough looks like

The draft is ready for the next step when it can attempt the real situation end to end and its most important boundary is explicit. It does not need to pass every case yet. The next step is where you expose failures and decide what to fix.

Next steps