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Symbi chat vs. agents — who does what
Product3 min read

Symbi chat vs. agents — who does what

In Symbi you talk to one assistant, and agents do the work. Here's the difference, and why it matters.

Claus Fasseland

Two different things

Symbi has two parts, and it helps to keep them apart:

  • Symbi, the chat — the assistant on the left side of the app. You talk to it.
  • Your agents — workers that each do one job, on their own, in the tools you already use. You don't chat with them. They just work.

A good way to think about it: Symbi is the colleague you ask for help. Agents are the team members Symbi helps you set up.

Symbi, the chat: the one you talk to

The chat is where you ask questions and get things done in Symbi:

  • "How do I connect Outlook?"
  • "Build me an agent that answers emails about delivery times."
  • "Why did my agent skip this email?"

Symbi knows the app inside out. It answers questions, sets up agents together with you, and helps you change them later. If you want something from Symbi, the chat is always the place to go.

Agents: the ones that work

An agent has one job and does it by itself. It doesn't wait for you to type something. It starts when its work arrives:

  • a new email lands in the inbox,
  • a ticket is created in your helpdesk,
  • a set time comes round (every morning at 8, say).

Then it does the job — for example reading the email, looking up the order and drafting a reply. You don't talk to an agent while it works. You see what it did.

Where you see your agents' work

  • Agents — every agent, what it does and how it's doing.
  • Operations — everything that's waiting for a person. You decide, per agent, what it may do on its own and what should wait for your OK. Anything waiting shows up here, where anyone on your team can approve, edit or decline it.

Want to try an agent before it goes live? Open it and use Preview: it shows exactly what the agent would do with your latest emails or tickets, without sending or changing anything.

Why it's built this way

Because a job that has to be done 40 times a day shouldn't need you to ask 40 times. You set an agent up once, by talking to Symbi. After that it just does the work, and you only step in where you've asked to.

In short

Symbi, the chat

  • What it is: your assistant in the app
  • How it starts: when you type
  • What you do: ask, build, change
  • Where: the left side of the app

An agent

  • What it is: a worker with one job
  • How it starts: when its work arrives
  • What you do: check its work, approve what waits
  • Where: Agents and Operations

Ready to set one up? Read the step-by-step Getting Started guide, or just tell Symbi in the chat what you'd like done.

Questions? Ask Symbi in the chat, or write to contact@symbi.no — a person will answer.