> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.cobalt.peoplereign.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Create your first agent

> A walk-through of the agent setup flow, step by step.

# Create your first agent

Creating an agent is a short guided flow in three phases: **create** (name it),
**profile** (how it talks and what it won't do), and **capabilities** (what it
can reach). You start from a template, and nothing you choose is permanent —
every choice is editable after the agent exists.

## Choose a template

Templates pre-select the integrations a typical agent of that kind needs, so you
start most of the way there:

| Template                    | Good for                     | Typical pre-selected systems               |
| --------------------------- | ---------------------------- | ------------------------------------------ |
| IT helpdesk agent           | Internal IT service desk     | Identity provider, service desk, team chat |
| HR support agent            | HR support and questions     | HRIS, time and pay, calendar               |
| Customer success agent      | Customer-facing support      | Ticketing, CRM                             |
| Employee productivity agent | Everyday scheduling and docs | Email, calendar, docs, chat                |
| Start from scratch          | Anything else                | Nothing — you choose                       |

Pick the closest fit, then walk the steps below.

## 1. Name the agent

Give it a display name, a role, and a short description — the description is
shown to employees, so write it for them ("Ask me about IT issues and
requests"), not for the console.

## 2. Set personality

Give the agent a voice. Start from a preset and edit it freely:

* **Direct & efficient** — calm and competent; confirms before destructive
  actions; cites sources.
* **Warm & explanatory** — approachable; explains the *why* before the *how*.
* **Terse** — one sentence where possible.
* **Formal** — full sentences, professional register.

The preset just seeds a text box — make it yours. This maps to the agent's
**Personality** and related profile fields, which you can refine any time on the
[agent profile](/build-agent/profile).

## 3. Set safety boundaries

Turn on the boundaries the agent must respect. Common ones include:

* Never repeat SSNs, credit cards, or unmasked PII.
* Don't promise response times or SLAs.
* Hand off to a human if sentiment turns clearly negative.
* Refuse HR, legal, or compensation topics and hand off to a human.

Each boundary is either a **hard** rule (refuse outright) or a **soft** one
(prefer to hand off). You can add your own.

## 4. Choose languages

Pick the languages the agent will hold conversations in, and which one is the
primary fallback. You can revisit this on the agent's
[profile](/build-agent/profile) later.

## 5. Choose integrations and authorize

The template proposes systems; keep, switch, or clear each, and add extras — a
productivity suite, a collaboration tool, a file store, or your own
[MCP server](/integrations/mcp-server). Review the access each integration
requests. Some connect on behalf of each end user (the agent only ever sees what
that user can already see); others need an administrator to grant access once.
You can authorize now or finish the wizard and authorize after. See
[Integrations](/integrations/overview) for how this works.

## 6. Add knowledge

Optionally upload reference material — policy PDFs, how-to docs, FAQs — that the
agent can search and cite. This seeds the agent's
[custom knowledge](/build-agent/custom-knowledge); you can add more any time.

## 7–8. Skillsets and live agent handoff

Two short explainers, nothing to configure here: what
[skillsets](/build-agent/skillsets-and-skills) are (custom capabilities you can
author later) and how handing a conversation to a human works. Both are set up
from the agent's **Capabilities** page after creation.

## 9. Review the toolset

A final review of every tool the agent will have on day one, based on your
integration choices. Trim anything you don't want live yet, then create.

## Try it

Cobalt creates the agent and shows the status of each integration it connected.
From here:

1. **Open Preview** and ask the agent a real question. Preview conversations
   don't reach employees and don't count against usage.
2. Refine its [profile](/build-agent/profile) and
   [capabilities](/build-agent/capabilities-overview) until it behaves the way
   you want.
3. [Connect a channel](/channels/overview) to put it in front of employees.

The agent improves as real conversations arrive — Cobalt surfaces where coverage
is thin so you know what to add next.