Skills
A skill is a playbook for “how to handle X” — guidance the agent loads only when relevant. Unlike a knowledge-base document, it is primarily behavioural instruction (returns steps, lead qualification, escalation…), not a fact sheet.
When to use a skill
- A repeating scenario with a clear procedure
- You want consistent tone and steps across conversations
- You don’t want to stuff every scenario into the system prompt
How to set up
- In admin under tools, open Skills.
- Create a skill and fill in:
- Name — an internal identifier (one word, e.g.
return_procedure). - Description — when the agent should use the skill. The agent sees this text as the "catalog" of available skills, so it needs to clearly describe the situation it applies to (e.g. "Use when the customer is handling a return or complaint").
- Instructions — the actual procedure as markdown text, up to 20,000 characters.
- Name — an internal identifier (one word, e.g.
- Assign it to the agents that should have it.
The agent uses the skill when it recognizes from the description that it's relevant — it picks it the same way it picks any other tool (calling it only when needed), not by similarity search like the knowledge base. A loaded procedure applies only to that one response — it isn't permanently added to the system prompt.
Skills vs. knowledge base
| Skill | KB document | |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | How to proceed | What is true / facts |
| Loading | On-demand by situation | Retrieval by similarity |
| Example | “How to handle a return” | Returns policy PDF |
Often you want both: the policy in the KB + a skill with the procedure.
Frequently asked questions
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How does the agent know which skill to use?
From the Description field — it compares it against the user's query the same way it picks between any other tools. The description needs to clearly state what situation the skill is for.
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How long can a skill be?
The instructions (skill content) have a 20,000-character limit.
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Can I have multiple skills at once?
Yes, any number, each with its own description and agent assignment.
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Can the agent use more than one skill in a single response?
Yes — if the query matches more than one skill's description, the agent can load several of them in sequence.