Tools Overview

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What Are Tools?

• Fetch data from external APIs (product info, order status, weather)
• Display rich content (product cards, carousels, tables)
• Collect information through interactive forms
• Trigger actions in your systems (create tickets, send notifications)

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Tool Types

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Creating a Tool

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Basic Configuration

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Naming Conventions

• Start with a letter or underscore
• Use only lowercase letters, numbers, and underscores
• Be unique within the agent

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Input Schema

{
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "query": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "The search term to look for"
    },
    "category": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Product category to filter by",
      "enum": ["electronics", "clothing", "home"]
    },
    "limit": {
      "type": "number",
      "description": "Maximum number of results"
    }
  },
  "required": ["query"]
}

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How the AI Uses Tools

1. Analyzes the user’s request
2. Decides if a tool would help answer it
3. Extracts the required parameters from the conversation
4. Calls the tool with those parameters
5. Processes the result and responds naturally

• “Search for products when the user asks about items, prices, or availability”
• “Look up order status when user provides an order number or asks about shipping”
• “Show the contact form when user wants to reach support or has an issue you cannot resolve”

• “Product search” (too vague)
• “Use this tool” (no context)

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Tool Execution Flow

User Message
    ↓
AI analyzes request
    ↓
AI decides to use tool
    ↓
Ansa executes tool
    ├── HTTP: Makes API request
    ├── Form: Returns schema to widget
    └── Mock: Returns templated response
    ↓
Result returned to AI
    ↓
AI generates natural response
    ↓
Response + rich display sent to user

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Enabling/Disabling Tools

• Enabled — AI can use this tool
• Disabled — Tool is hidden from AI

• Seasonal tools (holiday promotions)
• A/B testing different tools
• Temporarily disabling broken integrations

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Tool Categories

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Next Steps

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See Also

• HTTP Tools — API integration configuration
• Form Tools — Form fields and validation
• Display Configuration — Rich response formatting
• Submission Actions — Webhooks and notifications
• Marketplace — Pre-built tool templates