When to Use Autonomous Agents
Use an autonomous agent when the conversation needs judgment, research, or flexible sequencing.How Autonomous Agents Work
When an autonomous agent runs, Duckie gives it the conversation, your agent instructions, and the resources enabled for that agent. The agent can:- Read relevant runbooks before taking action
- Follow guidelines and guardrails assigned to the agent
- Search available knowledge
- Call Duckie tools, app tools, custom tools, MCP tools, and workflows
- Delegate focused tasks to callable agents
- Send a customer response through an available responder tool
- End its turn when the work is complete
Create an Autonomous Agent
1
Open Agents
Go to Build → Agents and click Create Agent.
2
Select Autonomous
Choose Autonomous in the mode selector.
3
Name the Agent
Add a clear name, choose a status, and optionally adjust the model settings.
4
Write Instructions
Describe the agent’s job, scope, decision rules, and handoff expectations.Good instructions tell the agent what it is responsible for, what it should avoid, and how it should decide between available resources.
5
Configure Access
Open the configuration sections to choose tools, knowledge tags, rules, tracking, runbooks, and workflows.
6
Save and Test
Save the agent, then test it in the playground before deploying it to customers.
Configuration Reference
Instructions
Instructions are the primary behavior definition for an autonomous agent. Use them to define:- The agent’s role and scope
- When to research before answering
- Which situations require escalation
- How to choose between runbooks, workflows, and tools
- Tone or format requirements that are specific to this agent
Model
Autonomous agents have model settings in the agent editor. Use the default model for most agents, and increase reasoning effort only when the agent needs deeper analysis.Tools
Autonomous agents can use enabled tools from the agent’s Tools section. Tool access can include: If all available tools are selected, Duckie stores that as all tools enabled. If you select a smaller set, the autonomous agent can only call the selected tools.Callable Agents
Use Callable agents to control which other agents an autonomous agent can invoke as sub-agents.
When a callable agent is available, Duckie presents it to the autonomous agent by name and description. The autonomous agent sends a task and chooses whether the child run should include the current conversation history.
Learn more about sub-agents ->
Knowledge
Use Knowledge Tags to limit which knowledge the agent can search.Rules
Use Guidelines for communication behavior and Guardrails for restrictions and escalation rules. If you do not select specific guidelines or guardrails, the agent can use all available rules for the organization.Runbooks and Workflows
Autonomous agents can use runbooks and workflows as resources.
Runbooks are the highest-priority procedural resource. If a relevant runbook exists, the autonomous agent is expected to read it before searching broader knowledge.
Tracking
Use Attributes, Categories, and Resolution Tracking to control how completed runs are classified for analytics.Best Practices
- Give the agent a clear job boundary.
- Make escalation conditions explicit.
- Keep powerful write actions limited to agents that need them.
- Use runbook and workflow allowlists for specialized agents.
- Test common, edge-case, and escalation scenarios in the playground.
- Start deployments in testing mode before switching to live traffic.
Next Steps
Workflows
Build deterministic flows autonomous agents can call
Sub-Agents
Delegate work to other agents
Runbooks
Write procedures autonomous agents can read
Tools
Configure actions the agent can take
Playground
Test the agent before deployment