An agent configured well sounds like your brand, stays on topic, and handles the situations your team deals with every day. An agent configured poorly frustrates users and creates more work than it saves.

A well-configured agent is one of the most powerful things your support operation can have. It sounds like your brand, stays focused on the right topics, and handles the situations your team deals with every day - automatically, at any hour, without anyone having to manage it.

That experience starts here. Your agent's name, instructions, access settings, and model choice are what shape every conversation it has. Get these right and customers get a consistent, on-brand experience from the very first message. 

In this article, you'll learn:

• How to create a new agent
• How to configure your agent's name and instructions
• How to set access control
• How to delete an agent

Creating a New Agent

If you're coming straight from onboarding, your first agent was created automatically during setup. To create an additional agent:

1. Click on the agent name in the top navigation bar.
2. At the bottom of the dropdown, click Create new agent.
3. Fill in the following:
   • Agent Name (required) - This is the internal name used to identify the agent in your dashboard.
   • Description (optional) - A short note about what this agent is for. Helpful if you have multiple agents.
   • Agent Icon (optional) - Upload a PNG, JPG, or SVG (up to 5MB). This icon appears in the agent switcher so you and your team can quickly identify it.
4. Click Create Agent.

Your new agent will open immediately with its own empty dashboard - ready to configure.

Configuring Your Agent

All agent configuration lives in the Settings tab. Click Settings in the top navigation bar to access it.

Agent Name

You can rename your agent at any time.

1. Go to Settings.
2. Update the Agent Name field at the top.
3. Click Save Changes.

Custom Instructions

Custom Instructions are the most important thing you can configure. They tell your agent who it is, how to behave, and how to handle specific situations. See Writing Good Agent Instructions for a full guide on how to write them well.

1. Go to Settings.
2. Find the Custom Instructions text area under AI Model & Instructions.
3. Edit the instructions.
4. Click Save Changes.

During onboarding, Outlearn pre-fills your instructions based on your domain. Always review and personalize them before going live.

AI Model

Choose which AI model powers your agent's responses. See Choosing an AI Model for help deciding which one is right for you.

1. Go to Settings.
2. Click the AI Model dropdown under AI Model & Instructions.
3. Select a model.

Access Control

Choose who can interact with your agent.

1. Go to Settings.
2. Under Access Control, select one of the following:
   • Public Access: Anyone can use your agent - no login required. Use this for customer-facing agents on your website.
   • Private Access: Only authenticated users can access your agent. Use this for internal agents where you want to restrict access to logged-in team members or verified customers.
3. Click Save Changes.

Deleting an Agent

Deleting an agent is permanent and cannot be undone. All of its sources, actions, handoffs, conversations, and settings will be removed.

1. Go to Settings.
2. Scroll to the Danger Zone section at the bottom of the page.
3. Click Delete Agent.
4. Confirm the action when prompted.

If you just want to take an agent offline temporarily, a better option is to go to Deploy and turn off the Active toggle on your chat widget or email channel - this pauses the agent without deleting anything.

Best Practices

• Use the Description field when you have multiple agents - a quick note like "Customer-facing support, EN only" saves a lot of confusion later.
• Set Private Access for any agent that handles sensitive information, internal processes, or employee-only content.
• Don't delete an agent just to start fresh - update the instructions and sources instead. Deleting also removes all conversation history and analytics data.