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 primitive 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. When a message comes in, Customer Agent’s router picks the best skill for the request based on each skill’s description.

Each skill has its own behavior — what to say, what to check, when to escalate. Customer Agent comes with skills out of the box. Creating fully custom skills from scratch is currently in closed beta.

What a tool is

A tool is a specific capability Customer Agent can use during a conversation — to fetch data or take an action. Tools only run when a skill uses them.

For example, the Get Customer Orders tool looks up a shopper’s orders in Shopify. It’s used by the Order tracking skill, the Order editing skill, and the Returns & exchanges skill.

How they work together

Skills and tools combine. Most skills use at least one tool, and a tool can be used by any number of skills.

A few common patterns, with examples:

• Content-only skill — A skill that answers from your knowledge base. For example, the General Q&A skill uses the Search Company Knowledge tool to look up answers in your indexed webpages, uploaded files, and snippets.
• 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 skills — One tool that powers several skills. For example, Get Customer Orders is used by Order tracking, Order editing, and Returns & exchanges.

How to decide

A quick decision guide:

• “I want Customer Agent to handle a new type of request.” → Build a skill.
• “I want Customer Agent to fetch data or take an action in an external system.” → Build a tool. You’ll attach it to a skill so it can actually run.
• “I want Customer Agent to handle a new type of request and call my API.” → Build both — the skill scopes what to handle, and the tool handles the API call.
• “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.

Examples

Shopper asks about returns.
The Returns & exchanges skill handles the request. It uses several tools: Get Customer Orders to look up the order, plus a returns-provider tool (e.g., Loop) to create the return.

Shopper asks a product recommendation question.
The Product Recommendations skill handles it. It uses the Get Product Recommendations tool to surface personalized picks and the Search Shop Catalog tool to look up specific products.

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.