Agents
Vectara Agents enable enterprises to build sophisticated, enterprise-grade intelligent applications that go beyond basic question answering. Agents interpret user input, reason through context, leverage external tools, and maintain continuity across multi-turn interactions.
Unlike traditional RAG systems that simply retrieve documents and pass them to a language model, Vectara agents provide orchestrated workflows capable of taking action, retrieving information, invoking APIs, or maintaining user sessions.
What are agents?
Agents provide a comprehensive framework for building AI-powered applications with the following capabilities:
- Understand context: Maintain conversation history across multiple interactions.
- Use tools: Access and manipulate data through a variety of tools, including corpus search and web search.
- Follow instructions: Execute complex workflows based on customizable instructions and templates.
- Stream responses: Provide real-time updates as agents process requests.
What agents can accomplish
Desired outcome | Workflow |
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Automate customer support workflows |
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Build intelligent research assistants |
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Create workflow automation systems |
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Develop conversational enterprise tools |
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Deploy autonomous business processes |
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How agents work
Agents use tools to access information and take action. Each tool provides a specific capability, such as searching a specific corpus, accessing a web page, or interacting with an external service. When creating or configuring an agent, you select which tools it can use which helps ensure the following:
- A clear separation between orchestration logic (the agent) and the capabilities provided by tools.
- Auditable permissions for every data retrieval or external action.
- Reusable tools that can serve multiple agents.
Agent concepts
Agents
Agents act as the orchestration layer of the platform:
- Coordinate between different tools and data sources.
- Maintain conversation context through sessions.
- Follow customizable instructions to guide behavior.
- Support streaming responses for real-time interaction.
Tools
Tools provide agents with capabilities to interact with data and external systems:
- Corpora Search: Query your Vectara corpora with semantic search.
- Web Search: Access current information from the internet.
- MCP Tools: Integrate with external services through the Model Context Protocol (MCP).
Sessions
Sessions maintain the state of conversations:
- Track all interactions (also known as events) within a conversation.
- Preserve context across multiple turns.
- Enable multi-turn reasoning and follow-up questions.
Instructions
Instructions guide agent behavior using Velocity templates:
- Define the agent's persona and objectives.
- Customize responses based on context.
- Support dynamic variable substitution.
Getting Started
To build your first agent:
- Create an agent: Define the agent's name, description, and available tools.
- Configure tools: Set up corpus access permissions and any external integrations.
- Write instructions: Create templates that guide the agent's behavior.
- Test with sessions: Start conversations and iterate on your configuration.
Platform Benefits
- Rapid Development: Build sophisticated AI applications without managing infrastructure.
- Enterprise Security: Role-based access control and audit trails.
- Scalability: Handle thousands of concurrent conversations.
- Flexibility: Customize every aspect of agent behavior.
- Integration Ready: Connect with existing systems through APIs and connectors.