Tools: Overview

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Understanding Tools and When to Use Them

In Timely.ai, Tools are what extend an Agent’s capabilities beyond its core Role + Prompt. By default, an Agent can only respond using the instructions defined in its Prompt.
Whenever you want an Agent to interact with data, trigger actions, integrate with systems, or escalate to humans, you must create and configure the appropriate Tools.

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How the Agent Uses Tools

Agents decide to use a Tool based on the Tool description.

• If the Agent determines a Tool is needed but required inputs are missing, it will ask the user for the missing information first
• Once all required properties are available, the Agent executes the Tool
• If all logic and information fit inside the Prompt, no Tool is required

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Types of Tools in Timely.ai

Below are the Tools currently available in the platform and when to use each one.

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📡 HTTP Request

Allows the Agent to perform API calls to external services. Supported methods:
GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, PATCH Use when:

• Integrating with third-party systems
• Fetching or sending data to external APIs

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⚙️ Code Execution

Allows the Agent to execute custom code snippets. Use when:

• Performing calculations
• Transforming data
• Applying custom logic not covered by other Tools

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🌐 Agentic Web Search

Allows the Agent to search the web for up-to-date information. Use when:

• Information is not available in Knowledge Bases
• Real-time or external context is required

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🎫 Ticket Creation

Creates a ticket and transfers the conversation to a human in the Timely.ai CRM. Important:

• Requires a CRM Team to exist
• This is the only native way to escalate a conversation to humans

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📚 Knowledge Base Search

Allows the Agent to search within a Knowledge Base created in Timely.ai. Use when:

• Information is too large or dynamic for the Prompt
• You need structured, searchable documentation or FAQs

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⏰ Follow Up

Allows the Agent to send follow-up messages after conversation inactivity. Use when:

• Re-engaging users
• Reminding users to complete an action
• Continuing conversations automatically

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📄 PDF Reader

Allows the Agent to read and extract information from PDF files. Allows the Agent to read and reason over the entire content of a PDF as a single contextual document, without chunking or semantic fragmentation.

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📊 Table Tools

Tables are native databases inside Timely.ai.
Each type of interaction requires its own Tool. Available Table Tools:

• Table Row Insertion — insert new records
• Table Row Update— update existing records
• Table Row Semantic Search — search by meaning using natural language
• Table Row Similarity Search — search by vector similarity (closest matches)

Use when:

• Managing leads, customers, tickets, or structured data
• Persisting information across conversations

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🔄 Workflow Execution

Executes a pre-built Workflow. Use when:

• Orchestrating multi-step processes
• Automating business logic (e.g., payments, onboarding, approvals)

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🧠 Contextual Memory

Allows the Agent to store and retrieve information across conversations. Examples:

• Name
• Company
• Budget
• Preferences

Memory works like dynamic variables, and the Agent relies on the Tool description to understand what should be extracted and stored.

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Best Practices

• Keep it simple — If information fits in the Prompt, don’t create a Tool
• Respect dependencies — Create the resource first (Table, Workflow, CRM Team)
• Write clear descriptions — Always explain Tools in natural language
• Test internally — Use the Internal Chat to validate Tool behavior before publishing

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Key Takeaway

Tools are what make Agents active inside Timely.ai. They connect your Agent to:

• Knowledge Bases
• Tables
• Workflows
• External APIs
• Humans

But remember:
More Tools = more complexity.
Start simple and only add what your Agent truly needs.