Tools, actions and planning

When you finish, you can describe what tools an agent needs and how it breaks a goal into steps.

Tools are the agent’s hands

A language model on its own can only produce text. Tools let it do things: search the web, read a file, add a calendar entry, send a message, update a spreadsheet. Each tool is a defined action with inputs and outputs. The model chooses which tool to use and what to give it.

Different products connect tools in different ways, and what is available depends on your plan and version, so check current help pages. The principle is stable: an agent can only do what its tools allow. Fewer, narrower tools mean fewer ways to go wrong.

Reading versus doing

Group tools into two kinds. Read tools look at information: search, open a file, check a calendar. Write tools change something: send an email, delete a file, post a message, spend money. Read tools are usually low risk. Write tools can cause harm, and some cannot be undone.

A good rule is to start with read tools only. Let the agent gather and summarize. When you add write tools, add them one at a time, with approval before each use, until you trust the pattern.

Planning: breaking a goal into steps

Agents plan by splitting a goal into smaller steps and deciding an order. You can help by doing the same on paper first. Goal: “prepare for tomorrow’s customer call.” Steps: find the last three emails with the customer, summarize open issues, list questions to ask, draft an agenda for my review.

A weak instruction is “Prepare for my call.” A strong instruction states the steps, the tools allowed and the output: “Read emails from this customer from the last month. Summarize open issues in five bullets. Do not send anything. Give me the summary and a draft agenda.” Clear limits make planning more reliable.

Worked example: a shop owner’s weekly report

A shop owner in Lagos wants a weekly stock report. The plan: read the stock sheet, list items below a minimum level, check last week’s sales for those items, and draft a reorder list. The tools needed are read access to two sheets and a way to write a draft document.

She does not give the agent access to the supplier’s ordering page. The agent drafts the list, and she places orders herself. She has used planning and tool choice to capture most of the time savings with very little risk.

Practice now

Choose a goal and list the steps. Label each step as a read or a write action, and highlight the write actions.
Rewrite a vague instruction such as “handle my reports” as a strong one that names steps, allowed tools, what not to do and the output.

Use any AI assistant you have. Do not paste private, client or patient information into it.

Check yourself

1. What can an agent do?

2. Which is a write action?

3. How should you add tools to a new agent?

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Next lesson: Human-in-the-loop: approvals and control

AI-drafted. Checked by an automated validator and a separate AI reviewer; a person has not read every lesson. Translations and tutor answers are AI-made. Found a mistake? Tell us. AI can be wrong. General information only, not professional advice. Not affiliated with any AI company named. Current University is not accredited.