Build Custom Agents

Overview

A custom agent turns your team’s process and standards into reusable instructions that anyone with access can run. Custom agents work toward the outcome you describe and determine the steps needed to get there. Use a thread for one-time work, and build a custom agent when the work recurs and should start from the same instructions and context every time.

You create custom agents in Agent Builder. Describe the outcome you want, and Harvey drafts the agent’s instructions, asks follow-up questions, and refines the instructions with you in conversation.

Add context like files, knowledge sources, and connectors, describe when the agent should use each one, and the agent determines how to produce the result.

Custom Agent Use Cases

Custom agents are designed to handle complex, repetitive work to your standards. Explore how you can use custom agents in Harvey with the use cases below.

Custom Agents vs. Workflows

Custom agents and workflows both turn repeatable work into something your team can run to your standards. In both, you can describe what you want and refine it in conversation with Harvey. The difference is what Harvey builds.

• Agents are built with text instructions and context, like files and sources. They can work toward an outcome, follow a step-by-step process, and adapt as the work requires.
• Workflows are built with blocks in a visual editor. They run in a strict step-by-step sequence and aren’t designed to adapt the process based on inputs.

For new builds, we recommend creating custom agents. Custom agents gain new Harvey capabilities as they’re released, including ones workflows don’t support, such as scheduling and automatic vault organization.

Before You Start

To build agents, you need the Agent Builder permission, and your workspace must have the Thread Experience update. If you don't see the option to create an agent on the Agents page, contact your workspace admin. Admins can grant the Agent Builder permission to specific users or roles. Refer to our Access Control & Permission Management article for details.

Building an Agent in Agent Builder

You can create an agent from the Agents page, then refine it in the agent editor until it produces the output you need.

Create a New Agent

1. Select Agents in Harvey's sidebar.
2. Select + Create Agent to open the Agent Builder.
3. In the prompt window, describe the agent you’d like to build, and Harvey drafts the instructions with you.

You can also select Import skill to upload an existing skill file (.md, .skill, or .zip) from another platform and have Harvey convert it into an agent. Or, you can choose Start from scratch to write the instructions yourself.

Describe What the Agent Should Do

When working with Harvey to build an agent, describe the result the agent should produce, rather than every step it should take. For example: "Build an agent that compares a redlined credit agreement draft to track changes in financial covenants, basket sizes, permitted indebtedness, and event of default triggers."

Harvey will ask follow-up questions to sharpen the agent’s behavior, then produce drafted agent instructions in the editor for you to review.

Edit the Agent and Add Context

When Harvey produces drafted agent instructions, you can review them in the editor on the right side of the window. Make direct edits in the editor, or ask Harvey to make additional changes in the thread to the left of the editor.

You can also add context to an agent using the options above the drafted text. Add any files, knowledge sources, connectors, Horizon Scanning scans, or playbooks that the agent should use on every run.

Test and Refine the Agent

1. Select Test agent to run the agent in a new tab and evaluate its output.
2. Return to the Agent Builder. In the thread, ask Harvey to make corrections or changes to the agent’s instructions. Harvey updates the instructions based on your feedback.
3. Select View changes to review Harvey's edits as a redline or side by side.
4. Repeat until the output meets your standards.

Save and Share an Agent

Your agent is ready to run as soon as you select Save. Once saved, you can share it with others in your workspace:

1. Select Share to open the sharing menu for your agent.
2. Add individual recipients, user groups, or entire spaces, then select Share to add them to the list of who has access.
3. Share with your entire workspace by selecting the Only people with access drop-down menu at the bottom of the window and selecting your workspace name. Your workspace is added to the list of those who have access to the agent.
4. Adjust the permission levels for each access listing. Choose between Can run, Can view, Can edit, and Full access.

After you save, the agent appears in the list on Harvey’s Agents page. You can find agents you’ve created by selecting the Created by you tab at the top of the list. Learn more about finding and running existing agents in our Run and Schedule Custom Agents article.

Admin Approval

Sharing is where approval applies for each agent. By default, sharing an agent with specific individuals doesn't require approval, while sharing it with your whole workspace does. Admins can change these defaults. Refer to our Managing Agents article for approval rules by sharing level.

Edit or Duplicate an Existing Agent

Edit an agent to change it for everyone who has access, or duplicate it to work on a separate copy and leave the original unchanged. You need Edit access to the agent to change the original, and at least View access to duplicate the original.

1. Select Agents in Harvey’s sidebar, then select the agent from the list.
2. On the Agent details page, choose how to make changes:

   • To change the agent itself, select Edit agent.
   • To work on a copy, select the ••• ellipsis icon and choose Duplicate agent.
3. Update the instructions or context in Agent Builder, then select Save to apply your changes.

Saved edits apply for everyone who has access to the agent. A saved duplicate appears on the Agents page as a new agent.

Notes & Limitations

• You can't choose which model a custom agent uses. Harvey selects the model for each task.