Skills

Skills are reusable instruction sets that you attach to agents. They teach an agent how to handle specific types of requests, like drafting emails, booking meetings, or generating reports.

What is a skill?

A skill consists of three parts:

• Title — A short name (e.g., "Email Drafter" or "Meeting Scheduler").
• Description — Defines when the agent should use this skill. The agent reads this to decide if the skill is relevant.
• Instructions (Prompt) — Detailed Markdown instructions for handling the task.

Skills can optionally include tool configurations that specify which integrations the skill needs.

Creating a skill

Manual creation

1. Navigate to Skills in the sidebar.
2. Click New Skill.
3. Fill in the title, description, and instructions.
4. Optionally add tool requirements.
5. Click Create Skill.

Screenshot: The skill creation form with fields for title, description, instructions, and tool configuration.

Generating from a description

VectorChat can generate a complete skill from a plain-language description:

1. On the skill creation page, find the Generate from Description section.
2. Describe what the skill should do. Be specific — for example: "Helps users draft professional emails. Use when users ask to write, reply to, or compose emails."
3. Click Generate Skill.
4. Review and edit the generated output.
5. Click Create Skill to save.

Attaching skills to agents

Skills are shared resources — create them once and attach to any number of agents.

1. Navigate to the agent's detail page.
2. Go to the Skills section.
3. Select the skills you want to assign.
4. Save the changes.

When a user sends a message, the agent checks which attached skills are relevant based on their descriptions. If a skill matches, it loads the full instructions and follows them.

Skill tools

Skills can specify tool requirements. When a skill includes tool configurations, the agent gains access to those tools when the skill is activated. Supported connection modes:

• Shared — Uses organization-wide credentials.
• Personal — Each user authenticates individually.

Deleting a skill

From the Skills page, click the menu on any skill and select Delete.

Best practices

• Write clear descriptions — The description is how the agent decides when to use the skill. Be specific about trigger scenarios.
• Keep instructions focused — Each skill should handle one task well.
• Test with real conversations — Chat with the agent to verify the skill triggers correctly.