> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.eesel.ai/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.eesel.ai/skills/what-are-skills.md).

# What are Skills?

### What Are Skills? <a href="#what-are-skills-1" id="what-are-skills-1"></a>

Skills are pre-built analytical workflows your agent can run on top of its core job. Unlike the agent's main work (answering tickets, writing posts), skills are distinct multi-step processes with their own logic and output artifacts.

**A skill is NOT:**

* A single tool call (that's just a tool)
* The agent's core behavior (that emerges from instructions + integrations)

**A skill IS:**

* A distinct workflow with multiple steps
* Has its own process and branching logic
* Produces its own output artifact (report, analysis, draft articles)

### How skills work

1. You run a skill from the dashboard or schedule it to run automatically
2. The skill reads your connected data - tickets, knowledge sources, past conversations
3. It works through its steps, which you can watch in real time
4. Results are saved as a report or set of files in your outputs, and emailed to you

### What each skill produces

Every skill produces an output artifact - a report, a set of drafted articles, a scored simulation, or a set of instruction suggestions. You can review and act on these from the dashboard.

### Skills vs. instructions

Your agent's instructions control its behavior in live conversations. Skills are separate - they're one-off or scheduled jobs that run independently, usually over historical data. Changing your instructions doesn't affect how a skill runs, and running a skill doesn't change your instructions (unless you choose to apply suggested improvements).


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