What actions are and what an AI agent can do with them

Actions let an AI agent do things, not only say them. That is the difference between deflection and service.

Actions let an AI agent do things, not only say them. That is the difference between deflection and service.

What an action is

A defined call to another system, made mid-conversation. Look up an order, check a booking, create a record, change an appointment.

The agent gathers what the action needs from the customer, calls it, and uses the result in its reply.

Why they change the value

Without actions, an AI agent can only tell people what is written down. "Where is my order" gets a policy answer rather than their order.

With one, it answers the actual question. That is the difference between customers tolerating the agent and preferring it.

Start with reading, not writing

Lookups are low risk: the worst outcome is no answer. Actions that change something can go wrong in ways the customer notices, so earn the confidence first.

Order status, delivery date, appointment time. Those three cover a large share of contacts in most businesses.

Every action needs a failure path

The system is down, the number is not found, the customer cannot be identified. Decide what happens in each case, because these are not rare.

Identity comes first

Anything showing personal data needs to establish who is asking. Work out what proves identity in your setting before building an action that reveals anything.

They need somebody technical

Actions are calls to systems with credentials and error handling. That is development work, and it is worth scoping properly rather than treating as configuration.

See also

• Creating a custom action
• Testing actions
• Creating generative procedures