# Key Concepts This page explains the core ideas behind eesel AI. Understanding these concepts will help you get the most out of the platform. ## Agents An agent is your AI teammate. You create an agent, train it on your knowledge, and deploy it to handle specific tasks — like answering support tickets or chatting with website visitors. You can create multiple agents for different roles: ``` ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Your eesel AI Workspace │ │ │ │ ┌─────────────┐ ┌─────────────┐ ┌────────────┐ │ │ │ Support │ │ Sales │ │ Internal │ │ │ │ Agent │ │ Chatbot │ │ Wiki │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ Zendesk │ │ Website │ │ Slack │ │ │ │ tickets │ │ chat │ │ Q&A │ │ │ └─────────────┘ └─────────────┘ └────────────┘ │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ``` Each agent has its own: * **Instructions** — How it should behave, what tone to use, what to do in specific situations * **Knowledge** — What it knows (your docs, help center, past tickets) * **Triggers** — When it activates * **Actions** — What it can do (reply, tag, assign, etc.) * **Channels** — Where it's deployed (helpdesk, chat widget, Slack) Learn more: [Creating Agents](https://docs.eesel.ai/configure-your-agent/creating-agents) ## Knowledge Sources Knowledge sources are what your agent learns from. The more relevant knowledge you provide, the better your agent performs. ``` Knowledge Sources Your Agent ┌──────────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐ │ Help center │──────┐ │ │ │ Past tickets │──────┤ │ Trained on │ │ Confluence wiki │──────┼──────────▶│ everything │ │ Google Drive │──────┤ │ you give it │ │ PDFs & docs │──────┤ │ │ │ Your website │──────┘ └──────────────┘ ``` **Types of knowledge sources:** | Type | Examples | Best for | | ---------------- | ----------------------------------------- | -------------------------------- | | **Help center** | Zendesk, Freshdesk, Intercom articles | Customer-facing answers | | **Past tickets** | Resolved conversations from your helpdesk | Learning your team's voice | | **Documents** | Google Drive, Notion, Confluence, PDFs | Internal policies, processes | | **Website** | Any public website | Product info, pricing, FAQs | | **Macros** | Canned responses from your helpdesk | Consistent, pre-approved answers | Knowledge stays up to date — eesel AI automatically re-syncs sources to pick up changes. Learn more: [Training Best Practices](https://docs.eesel.ai/configure-your-agent/training-best-practices) ## Triggers A trigger tells your agent **when to activate**. Without a trigger, your agent waits in the test chat — it won't respond to real tickets or messages on its own. **Common triggers:** | Trigger | What it does | Example | | -------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------- | | **Any customer message** | Activates on every incoming ticket or message | Full automation | | **First customer message** | Activates only on the first message in a new conversation | Triage and routing | | **Agent requests help** | Activates when a human agent @mentions eesel in an internal note | On-demand AI assist | | **Scheduled** | Runs on a recurring schedule | Periodic reports or checks | You can have multiple triggers on the same agent. For example, you might want your agent to automatically handle new tickets *and* respond when your team asks for help. Learn more: [Triggers](https://docs.eesel.ai/configure-your-agent/triggers) ## Actions Actions are what your agent **can do** — beyond just generating an answer. Think of them as the tools your agent has at its disposal. **Common actions:** | Action | What it does | | ----------------------- | ---------------------------------------- | | **Leave public reply** | Send a response the customer sees | | **Leave draft reply** | Write a draft for your team to review | | **Leave internal note** | Add a note only your team sees | | **Tag ticket** | Add tags for categorization | | **Assign ticket** | Route to a specific team member or group | | **Close ticket** | Mark a ticket as resolved | | **Create ticket** | Open a new ticket | | **Search tickets** | Look up related conversations | Each action can have [Human in the Loop](#human-in-the-loop) turned on, so you can require approval before it executes. Learn more: [Actions](https://docs.eesel.ai/configure-your-agent/actions) ## Human in the Loop Human in the Loop (HITL) is an approval step you can add to any action. When enabled, your agent prepares its response or action but **waits for a human to approve it** before executing. ``` Without HITL With HITL ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐ │ Customer │──▶│ Agent │ │ Customer │──▶│ Agent │──▶│ Human │ │ asks │ │ replies │ │ asks │ │ drafts │ │ approves │ │ question │ │ directly │ │ question │ │ reply │ │ & sends │ └──────────┘ └──────────┘ └──────────┘ └──────────┘ └──────────┘ ``` This is especially useful when you're first getting started — let the agent draft replies and review them before going fully autonomous. Learn more: [Human in the Loop](https://docs.eesel.ai/configure-your-agent/human-in-the-loop) ## Channels Channels are **where your agent is deployed** — how customers or team members interact with it. | Channel | Description | Example use | | --------------- | ------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------ | | **Helpdesk** | Agent works inside your helpdesk tool | Zendesk, Freshdesk, Intercom tickets | | **Chat Bubble** | Floating chat button on your website | Customer self-service | | **Inline Chat** | Chat embedded directly in a page | Help center, docs site | | **Public Chat** | Shareable chat link | Email signatures, social media | | **Slack** | Agent in your Slack workspace | Internal team Q\&A | You can deploy the same agent to multiple channels — it uses the same knowledge and instructions everywhere. Learn more: [eesel Channels](https://docs.eesel.ai/configure-your-agent/testing-and-deployment#eesel-channels) ## Instructions Instructions are how you tell your agent what to do. Think of them as the onboarding document you'd give a new team member — they define your agent's personality, rules, and behavior. Good instructions include: * **Who the agent is** — "You are a friendly support agent for Acme Corp" * **How to respond** — "Keep answers concise. Use bullet points for steps." * **What to do in specific situations** — "If the customer asks about billing, check their order status first" * **When to escalate** — "If you can't answer confidently, assign to the Support team" Learn more: [Writing Instructions](https://docs.eesel.ai/configure-your-agent/instructions) ## Integrations Integrations connect eesel AI to the tools you already use. There are four types: | Type | What they do | Examples | | ----------------- | --------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------- | | **Helpdesks** | Where your agent handles tickets | Zendesk, Freshdesk, Intercom, Gorgias, Jira | | **Knowledge** | What your agent learns from | Google Drive, Notion, Confluence, websites | | **Communication** | Where your agent sends messages | Slack, Gmail | | **E-commerce** | Product and order data your agent can look up | Shopify | Learn how to connect your tools: [Connect Your Tools](https://docs.eesel.ai/connect-your-tools/integrations)