Building Your Agent
Profile
A tour of the Agent Builder, how a new agent goes from Draft to Ready, and the Profile section where every agent starts.
Building an agent is like setting up a new hire on their first day: you give them a name and a role, hand them the tools and information they need, and decide where they'll work. The Agent Builder puts all of that in one place, and the profile — the badge your agent wears, with its name, description and picture — is where every agent starts.
It's a Nirvai model, so each reply uses credits from your plan.
People reach this agent here around the clock — no one has to open a chat.
How the Agent Builder works
Open it from Agents → New agent, or Edit on an existing agent.
- Overview is the first thing you see: everything the agent has — profile, model, instructions, channels, tools, skills, databases, projects — as cards. Click a card to jump to that section. What isn't set up yet appears at the bottom under Not set up yet.
- Sections live in the left menu, in any order. A green dot means the section is complete; each section lists what's attached to it underneath.
- Every section saves by itself. There is no final "publish" button to press.
- Built-ins (bottom of the menu) shows what every agent can already do without setup: Python, web search, files and vision.
Draft or Ready
A new agent starts as a Draft. The first time you save its profile, the builder creates it (the button reads Save & Create Draft).
Profile
Who this agent is — its name, picture, description and the questions people can open with.
- · Start here — your agent's identity and first impression
- · Give it a name people would say out loud — "Luna" or "Support", not "agent_v2".
- · The best starters are the questions people already ask, in their own words.
Shown in every chatFor the people who will chat with it, not for the agent.
Detected from your browser — the agent uses it for dates and times.
Starters are the first thing people see — add at least one.
Add a starterIt becomes Ready on its own as soon as it has a profile and instructions — the two checks on the Profile card. Everything else is optional: add what the job calls for.
The sections
Name, description, avatar, time zone and conversation starters. Saving it creates the agent.
Open guideThe rules, tone and limits it follows in every reply — or let Magic Instructions write them.
Open guideActions it can take in other apps — send an email, create an order, look a customer up.
Open guideWhere it keeps and finds your documents and what it learns — shared across conversations.
Open guideYour tables it can read — and, if you allow it, update.
Open guideSaved routines it runs the same way every time, like a report or a quote.
Open guideBuilt-in abilities you switch on, like learning from your corrections.
Open guideWhere people reach it: WhatsApp, Instagram, your website, Slack and more.
Open guideThe AI model that runs it — a Nirvai model, or one of your own providers at 0 credits.
Open guideDon't want to start from a blank page? Use an agent template and adjust it.
Proposed by your AI assistant? If you connected Claude, ChatGPT or another assistant through MCP, the agents it proposes open in the builder as a Draft with a Proposed by … · Accept · Discard bar. Review and change anything you like, then accept it.
Fill in the profile
- Choose Profile in the left menu and fill in the fields below.
- Click Save & Create Draft (a new agent) or Save changes.
Profile
Who this agent is — its name, picture, description and the questions people can open with.
Shown in every chatFor the people who will chat with it, not for the agent.
Detected from your browser — the agent uses it for dates and times.
| Field | Required | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes | The agent's display name (for example, "Sales Assistant" or "Support Bot") |
| Description | Yes | A short explanation of what the agent does. Shown on the agent card and in channel greetings |
| Avatar | No | A picture that represents the agent. If you leave it blank, Nirvai creates one for you automatically |
| Time zone | Yes | Detected from your browser. The agent uses it for dates and times |
The AI model has its own Model section, and charts and mini apps in the web chat are a native capability (Create visual dashboards & apps in chat).
Writing a good name
Your agent's name shows up everywhere — in chat headers, channel messages, automation steps, and the Agents center (where you manage all your agents). Make it descriptive so you and your users can tell agents apart at a glance:
| Good names | Avoid |
|---|---|
| Sales Qualifier — makes the purpose clear | Agent 1 — gives no hint of what it does |
| Product FAQ Bot — people know what to ask | Bot — too generic |
| Onboarding Guide — describes the interaction | My AI — unhelpful in a list of agents |
Writing a good description
The description does two jobs:
- For your users — it appears as the greeting or context in chat and channel messages.
- For you — it reminds you what the agent is for when you're juggling several of them.
Keep it to one or two sentences. Focus on what the agent does and who it's for:
"Answers customer questions about our product features, pricing, and availability. Trained on our latest product catalog and FAQ."
"Qualifies inbound leads by researching their company and deciding whether they're a good fit. Uses web search and our CRM data."
Choosing an avatar
The avatar gives your agent a face in the Agents center, in chats, in channel messages (WhatsApp, Instagram and others) and on automation step cards. Upload any PNG or JPG; if you skip it, Nirvai creates a default picture based on the agent's name.
When you have several agents, give each one a distinct avatar. It makes them far easier to spot at a glance in the Agents center and when you're building automations.
Conversation starters
Conversation starters are ready-made prompts that appear as clickable buttons when someone opens a chat with your agent — like the suggested questions a hotel concierge prints on a card. They show off what the agent can do, save typing, and point people toward what it handles best. They're optional — add them now or come back later.
Adding starters
- In Conversation Starters, click Add a starter and type a prompt — or click Use suggestions to start from suggested ones.
- Add three to five distinct prompts. The text you write is exactly what gets sent when someone clicks it.
Example starters by agent type
| Agent | Starters |
|---|---|
| Customer support | "What's the status of my latest order?" · "I'd like to request a return" · "What are your business hours?" |
| Research | "Summarize the latest news about [topic]" · "Compare [product A] vs [product B]" |
| Sales | "Tell me about your pricing plans" · "I'd like to schedule a demo" |
Tips for good starters
| Do | Don't |
|---|---|
| Use natural, conversational language | Use robotic or overly formal phrasing |
| Cover the agent's main uses | Add starters for things the agent can't do |
| Keep prompts short (under 60 characters) | Write paragraph-length starters |
| Include 3–5 starters | Add more than 6 (too many choices means no choice) |
Think about the top three to five things people will most commonly ask your agent, and turn those into starters. They show up in Nirvai Chat and the web chat widget — not on channels like WhatsApp, where people start conversations freely.
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Fix |
|---|---|
| The Save button stays greyed out | Make sure the Name and Description are filled in — they're required. |
| My uploaded picture won't appear | Use a PNG or JPG file. If it still doesn't show, try a smaller image or refresh the page and upload again. |
| I picked the wrong model | Change it anytime in the Model section. |
| My conversation starters don't appear in the chat | Starters only show in Nirvai Chat and the web chat widget, not on channels like WhatsApp where people start conversations freely. |
What's next
- Instructions — the next section. Your agent turns Ready as soon as it has both a profile and instructions.