Understanding Skills vs. Tools

You will learn

The difference between skills and tools in Customer Agent, when to reach for each, and how they work together. By the end, you’ll know which option to use when you want Customer Agent to do something new.

The short version

What a skill is

A skill is a way Customer Agent handles a specific type of shopper request. Customer Agent uses skill descriptions to identify which skill fits the request. For a custom skill, you write this description in When to use this skill.

Custom skills define workflow-specific behavior: what to check, how to respond, which tools to use, and when to hand off. They are optional. Customer Agent can handle common requests with permitted tools and your content, without a default skill for each task.

What a tool is

A tool is a specific capability Customer Agent can use during a conversation — to fetch data or take an action. A custom skill’s instructions tell Customer Agent when to use each of its tools.

For example, Get Customer Orders looks up a shopper’s orders from your connected store. Customer Agent can use it directly if its permission is Always allow.

How they work together

Tool permissions control access. Always allow makes a tool available directly; Only in skills limits it to skills that include it; Blocked prevents its use, even in a skill. A custom skill can include several tools, and the same tool can appear in several skills.

A few common patterns, with examples:

• Direct tool use: Customer Agent can use Search Company Knowledge to answer from your indexed webpages, uploaded files, and snippets when the tool is allowed. No separate General Q&A skill is needed.
• Skill with a dedicated tool — A skill built around a single external action. For example, a custom Warranty Claim skill paired with a fully custom tool that calls your warranty system’s API.
• Tool used by multiple custom skills: You might include Get Customer Orders in separate workflows for warranty claims and order changes.

How to decide

A quick decision guide:

• “I want Customer Agent to handle a new type of request.” → First review your connected integrations, available tools, and permissions. Test the request. If it needs specific instructions, describe the behavior in Composer.
• “I want Customer Agent to fetch data or take an action in an external system.” → Use an available tool or build a custom tool, then configure its permission in Connectors. Add it to a skill if you choose Only in skills or need workflow-specific instructions.
• “I want Customer Agent to call my API and follow a specific process.” → Create a custom tool for the API, then ask Composer to configure its permission and create a custom skill if needed for the process.
• “I want to change how Customer Agent writes or when it escalates.” → You’re looking for Guidance, not a skill or tool. Head to Customer Agent Guidance to adjust tone, communication style rules, or escalation rules.
• “I want Customer Agent to know a fact I can write down.” → That’s content. Add it to your content library and Customer Agent will use it when answering questions.

Review tool permissions in Understanding Tools.

Use Composer to configure and test custom behavior.

Examples

Shopper asks about returns.
With the required integrations connected and tools allowed, Customer Agent can answer policy questions and guide shoppers to your returns portal. If you want it to perform a sensitive action, such as issuing a refund, use Composer to configure the available tool and any custom skill needed for your policy.

Shopper asks a product recommendation question.
Customer Agent can use permitted product recommendation and catalog tools from your connected store. Shopify catalog search and WooCommerce or Magento recommendation tools depend on the integration; a separate Product Recommendations skill is not required.

Brand wants Customer Agent to book restaurant reservations.
Build a Reservation Booking skill (a fully custom skill) plus a fully custom tool that calls the reservation system’s API. The skill decides when to book; the tool does the booking.

Brand wants Customer Agent to use a more casual tone.
No skill or tool needed. That’s a Guidance setting — adjust tone of voice in Customer Agent Guidance.

Additional resources