---
title: "Agents"
description: "Agents are the user-facing surface of your Brainfish self-service experience. Each agent is a configured AI assistant that draws on your knowledge, follows your tone and routing rules, and delivers answers through one or more channels."
canonical_url: "https://help.brainfi.sh/articles/agents-ryGZuSEuZJ"
md_url: "https://help.brainfi.sh/articles/agents-ryGZuSEuZJ.md"
---
# Agents

Agents are the user-facing surface of your Brainfish self-service experience. Each agent is a configured AI assistant that draws on your knowledge, follows your tone and routing rules, and delivers answers through one or more channels.

## Agent styles

You can create an agent in any of the following styles, depending on where you want to deploy it:

* **Help Center Agent** — powers your Brainfish-hosted help center site.
* **Web Agent (Search bar / Sidebar / Popup)** — embeds in your product or website via a small JavaScript snippet.
* **Slack Agent** — answers in Slack channels and DMs your team invites it to.
* **Microsoft Teams Agent** — answers in Teams channels via the Brainfish Teams app.
* **Salesforce Email Agent** — drafts AI replies on Salesforce email cases, with optional auto-send.

All agents share the same underlying knowledge layer — only the channel, identity, and presentation differ.

## What you configure on an agent

| Setting | What it controls |
|----|----|
| **Agent Identity** | Pre-tuned persona (Customer Support, Sales Enablement, Developer/API, ITSM, HR, etc.) that shapes tone and behavior. |
| **Knowledge Settings** | Which collections and external sources the agent searches. |
| **Response Style** | Concise / Normal / Detailed answer length. |
| **Custom Instructions** | Free-text rules that always apply (vocabulary, escalation rules, forbidden phrases). |
| **Suggested Follow-up Actions** | URL / Email / Phone / Callback buttons shown after each answer. |
| **Branding & Theme** | Colors, logo, custom CSS for help-center and widget agents. |

## Articles in this section

* [Agent Identity (Using identities to improve accuracy and context)](/articles/agent-identity-using-identities-to-improve-accuracy-and-context-W0pvGP8Im0)
* [Configuring Web Agents](/articles/configuring-web-agents-5xYwkkwa4S)
* [Creating and Configuring a Help Center Agent (Including Suggested Follow-up Actions)](/articles/creating-and-configuring-a-help-center-agent-including-suggested-follow-up-actions-PbxZTdj6GE)
  * [Configuring Advanced Agent Settings](/articles/configuring-advanced-agent-settings-o5iQRqDdRS)
  * [Configuring Advanced Agent Settings via JSON](/articles/configuring-advanced-agent-settings-via-json-ZVObSFQvAL)
* [Customizing Your Help Center Agent Appearance](/articles/customizing-your-help-center-agent-appearance-f18D5ATYNF)
* [How to Configure Custom Instructions and Response Style for AI Agents](/articles/how-to-configure-custom-instructions-and-response-style-for-ai-agents-5wiLJMGS7K)
* [How to customise the Popup logo](/articles/how-to-customise-the-popup-logo-nFbOLypZqn)
* [Simulation: Test Your Agent](/articles/simulation-test-your-agent-1TD46giCEY)
* [Troubleshooting Agents](/articles/troubleshooting-agents-Q1L7AYfrTm)

## Where this fits in Distribution

Agents are the user-facing layer. To deliver them you also need:

* **Knowledge** — the source of truth your agents draw answers from. Configure under Knowledge → Collections and External Data.
* **Channels** — where the agent runs. See [Integrations](/articles/integrations-6iqA0AfSNO), [Help Center](/articles/help-center-Cf6kyAsfiT), and [Widgets & Deployment](/articles/widgets-deployment-wZPkxMx6q0).
* **Handoffs & Actions** — what happens after the agent answers. See [Handoffs & Actions](/articles/handoffs-actions-wATQD30VGo).
* **Nudges & Guidance** — proactive in-product messages alongside the agent. See [Nudges & Guidance](/articles/nudges-guidance-tZwQRonIxo).