Early Access Feature
New Agent Builder
The new Agent Builder will make it easier to create and customize powerful agents using simple text instructions, conversational building, and reusable templates.
Interested in testing this feature?
Contact your Customer Success Manager for early access.
Note: This update is for agent builders only, who have the ability to create custom agents in Harvey.
Important:
- Starting 9/9, users within the New Agent Builder EA program will also automatically have access to the New Agents Page & Simplified Navigation EA program as part of the Harvey II updates.
- This feature requires users to have the Thread Experience update, and is bundled with Custom Agents in Assistant. This feature cannot be requested separately from those features being enabled.
Overview
The new Agent Builder is Harvey's text-based experience for creating custom agents. Instead of mapping out every prompt and block step, you describe what you want the agent to produce — and Harvey helps you refine, test, and improve those instructions through conversation.
This is a fundamental shift from the Workflow Builder: rather than building each step to execute, you can now define the outcome — the custom agent infers and finds the most efficient way to produce a consistent, repeatable outcome for you.
The above video walkthrough also previews upcoming UI changes coming to Agents. See News Agents Page and Simplified Navigation for more details.
With the new Agent Builder, you can:
- Choose various ways to build
- Create and edit agents using simple conversation with Harvey
- Start from existing templates or Library agents instead of building from scratch
- Upload Markdown files to generate agents instantly
- Visualize how your agent runs with a flow diagram
- Continue to embed knowledge sources or vaults into your agents
Before You Start
Confirm that you have:
- Agent Builder permissions to create agents
- Access to Thread Experience Update. The Agent Builder experience performs best when the user has access to the full bundle of agentic capabilities.
Agent Builder vs Workflow Builder Comparison
This chart covers the main differences between our Agent Builder and Workflow Builder.
Workflow Builder - Current Version | New Agent Builder- Early Access | |
|---|---|---|
How you build |
|
|
How you iterate and refine | Rebuild blocks | Chat with Harvey |
How you add sources | Added per block | Added once, you describe how they should be used |
Change over time | No - workflows are designed to be static, conforming exactly to your blocks, and don't improve or get new agentic platform updates over time | Yes - custom agents improve and get new agentic platform capabilities automatically. These include newer features like scheduling. |
Output types | No change | No change |
Use Cases
Agent Builder is designed for repeatable, multi-step processes that benefit from consistency and automation. Custom agents are designed to handle complex work, tailored to your standards. Sample use cases:
For Users: Accessing Custom Agents
Custom agents easily accessible when asking any prompt.
You can call on a custom agent by typing @ in your query and selecting it by name.
This makes it faster to bring the right agent into a task without switching surfaces mid-workflow. It also makes it easier to discover and use agents that your workspace has configured for recurring legal work.
Tag an Agent With @
- Start asking Harvey any query. When writing your query, type @ to see a list of agents and knowledge sources.
- Type the name of the agent you want to use, or scroll through the list to find the agent you need.
- Select the agent, then send your query.
For Admins: Manage New Agents in Library
As an Admin, if you’d like to adjust access to custom agents, you can modify what’s available in your workspace library by following the steps below.
- Open the Build tab to open the Workflow Agents dashboard
- Select the tab Created by Harvey to filter the available custom agents
- Filter by practice area, or sort columns to narrow your search
- Use the check boxes to select custom agents
- Choose an update:
- Unpublish to hide them from the Library
- Publish to share them to the Library
- Delete ones you never want used
Editing and Duplicating Agents from Library
Anyone with Agent Builder access can customize agents by editing an agent directly or by duplicating it and editing the copy.
Editing an Agent Directly
Editing an agent directly updates the existing Harvey agent in place. Once your changes are approved, that version replaces the original for everyone in your workspace.
- Open the Build tab.
- Select the agent you want to edit.
- Choose Edit agent to open it in Agent Builder, where you can edit, test, and save the instructions.
- Submit your changes for publishing. Once an agent builder admin approves them, your version replaces the original Harvey agent for all users.
Duplicating and Editing an Agent
Duplicating creates a separate copy for you to edit while leaving the original Harvey agent untouched.
- Open the Build tab.
- Select the agent you want to duplicate.
- Select the ••• (three dots) in the upper right corner and choose Duplicate agent.
- Edit the duplicated agent in Agent Builder.
- Submit your changes for publishing. Once an agent builder admin approves them, the agent appears as a new workflow agent, operating just like any custom workflow. You can make it available to a single user, a group of users, or your entire firm.
How to Create an Agent with the New Agent Builder
Step 1: Open Agent Builder
- Select the Build tab from Harvey’s main side panel menu
- Select Agent Builder
- Choose Create workflow agent
- Choose how you want to build:
- Agent Builder — this is our new version; use words to build
- Workflow Builder — the version you’re familiar with; use blocks to build
- Choose how you want to start:
- Chat with Harvey — describe what you want Harvey to do
- Import a Markdown (.md) file — Import a Claude skill or other existing instructions
- Build from scratch — write out instructions, or copy in prompts
Step 2: Build with Instructions
- Enter a description of what the agent should do. Be outcome-focused, describe what the agent should produce, not every step it should take.
- Example prompt: "Analyze contracts for specific clauses and summarize risks in a structured table."
- Harvey will ask follow-up questions to refine your instructions. Answer them to sharpen the agent's behavior.
The agent editor will open on the right-side, while you can continue to ask Harvey to iterate on the left. You can also edit the instructions directly in the editor at any time.
Tip: Starting with "Can you build me an agent that..." is a reliable way to trigger a build proposal from Harvey.
Step 3: Add Context
In the editor, you can add or adjust files and sources to give the agent context, such as knowledge sources, vaults, or templates. Direct file uploads are coming soon.
- Select Manage by sources or files to make your selections
- Once your context is added, use the text box to tell Harvey how and when to use each source.
Note: If you want Harvey to use specific sources, especially at a particular step, make sure those sources are added and explicitly instruct the agent when to use each source.
Step 4: Review Agent Logic
- Switch between views using the tabs at the top of the editor:
- Instructions view — Default view, edit agent behavior directly
- Diagram view — Visualize how the agent may execute (read-only)
Both can help give you an understanding of the steps the agents has planned.
Note: The diagram view is intended as a visual aid and does not represent exact steps the agent will take every time.
Step 5: Test and Iterate
- If you have immediate changes to make, simply ask Harvey to make those changes using the chat conversation.
- Use the view changes option to review edits in redline or side-by-side style.
- When you’re ready, use the Test option to evaluate how the agent performs.
- Review the output and tell Harvey what it missed, so that it can refine your instructions based on the results.
- Repeat until the output meets your standards.
Tip: Use test runs to iterate rather than trying to perfect instructions upfront. Faster iteration leads to better agents.
Save, publish, and share capabilities remain the same as Workflow Builder.
If you have embedded vaults attached to the custom agent, you will be prompted to share them when you share the agent. Currently, embedded sources must be stored in a vault.
Refer to Permissions and Sharing in Agent Builder for details.
Step 7: Schedule a Custom Agent
- Select Build from Harvey’s sidebar and choose Agent builder.
- Select a published agent from the list.
- In the Agent Builder, select Set schedule.
- Choose your desired schedule. Set your agent to run every set number of days, or set a weekly schedule to run on specific days of the week.
- Add client matter and set your email preferences (optional).
- Select Set.
Tip: You can view all of your scheduled agents, as well as the results of your scheduled runs, by selecting History in Harvey’s sidebar.
Notes and Limitations
- No local file uploads during agent creation — To add files to your agent, they must be in a vault. Users can still upload ad hoc local files when using the agent, but if you want specific files to be used on every agent run, make sure they’re in a vault. You will be prompted to share attached vaults when you share a custom agent.
- Workflow Builder remains available — Existing workflows are not affected, though future development is focused on the new Agent Builder.
- Agents only support one schedule at a time — You can only set one schedule for each custom agent.
- Scheduling is for personal runs only — The schedule you set on an agent is a personal setting. When you share an agent with others, your set schedule will not be shared. Others can create their own schedules on top of the same agent.
FAQs
Access
Q: Who can use the new Agent Builder?
The new Agent Builder is available to users with Agent Builder permissions. Ask your workspace admin about access.
Performance
Q: How is the new Agent Builder different from the current Workflow Builder?
The new Agent Builder will replace rigid, block-based construction with a more flexible text-based approach, allowing you to create more capable custom agents that reason through complex work. You will be able to define and refine agent behavior through direct instruction editing, making the creation process faster and more intuitive.
Q: How will this improve the experience of running agents?
The new Agent Builder will enable agents to collect required inputs more intelligently—either upfront or while processing. This will reduce the need for step-by-step prompting and create a more seamless experience compared to previously built custom workflows.
Building
Q: Do I need to start from scratch when creating an agent?
No. You can edit agents from the Harvey Library and use them as a starting point, making it easy to build on proven templates and adapt them to specific workflows. The ability to convert block-based workflows into the new agent format will be coming in a future update.
Q: Do I need to define every step of the workflow?
No. You define the desired outcome and key instructions. The agent determines how to execute the steps.
Q: Can agents automatically use my data sources?
No. You must explicitly instruct the agent which files and sources to use and when.
Q: What happens to my existing workflows?
Nothing. Existing workflows are not affected. Workflow Builder remains available, but future development is focused on the new Agent Builder.
Q: Can I specify which AI model the agent uses?
Not currently. Harvey automatically selects the best model for the task.
Q: Can I ask Harvey to build a custom agent with me in Workflow Builder?
Yes — You can use Build with Harvey in Workflow Builder.
Scheduling
Q: Can I set a custom agent schedule on unpublished agents?
No — if the agent is still a draft or unpublished, you won’t be able to set a schedule for it. Publish the agent first, then set your desired schedule.
Q: Can I set a schedule for a custom agent that requires user input (like a file upload or text input)?
No — you will need to edit the agent and remove instructions asking for input such as submitting follow-up answers or uploading files.
Other
Q: How is this different than Words to Workflows?
Words to Workflows helps you set go from idea to block-based setup in one step. However, it lacked the conversational iteration now available. The new Agent Builder is a completely redesigned experience for how custom agents are created and stored as text-based instructions.
Q: How is the new Agent Builder different from Harvey Assistant?
Harvey Assistant (Thread Experience) is for one-time work products — you run it, get an output, and you're done. The new Agent Builder is for making that work repeatable. A custom agent bundles not just instructions but also knowledge sources, vaults, and templates, so every run starts from the same high-quality baseline.