Actions let your AI agent do more than answer questions. You configure actions per profile under the Actions tab, where you choose which tools and integrations each profile can use.
Procedures
Procedures are step-by-step workflows that guide your AI agent through multi-turn tasks. Enable procedures per profile to make them available during conversations.
Escalation tools let the AI agent hand conversations to human agents. Two variants exist, one for each channel type:
| Tool | Channel | Behavior |
|---|
Offer handoff (offer_handoff) | Web / Frame | The AI offers to transfer the conversation. The user reviews and confirms before escalation. |
Escalate to Human (escalate_to_human) | Ticketing | The AI sends the user a response and writes a handover note for the human agent. |
Connecting to third-party systems
When you need your AI agent to interact with external systems, follow this priority:
- Toolboxes or pre-built MCP Servers. Check if botBrains already offers a ready-made integration for your system. These require minimal setup and work out of the box.
- Unitools. If no pre-built integration exists, write a Unitool to call the external API yourself.
- Search Tables. If the data rarely changes, consider uploading it as a Search Table instead of querying an external system at runtime.
MCP Servers
MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers connect your AI agent to external systems like Salesforce, Stripe, HubSpot, or your own APIs. Data stays in the external system, and the agent accesses it in real time.
Setup. Add an MCP server at the project level, then enable it in a profile’s Actions tab. You can choose which tools to expose and whether actions require approval.
botBrains provides pre-built integrations for popular platforms. You can also connect any custom endpoint that implements the MCP specification.
| Tool | Description |
|---|
Web Search (search_web) | Search the web for current information during conversations. |
Search Tables
Search Tables let your AI agent query structured data you upload to botBrains (CSV, JSON, or JSONL). Configure searchable fields, filters, and ranges so the agent can answer precise queries like “find orders over $100.”
Add tables at the project level, then attach them to a profile under the Actions tab with a custom tool name and description.
Choosing the right action type
| Need | Use |
|---|
| Step-by-step workflows | Procedures |
| Hand off to humans | Escalation tools |
| Third-party system integration | Toolboxes or MCP Servers first, then Unitools as fallback |
| Real-time web info | Builtin tools |
| Structured data queries | Search Tables |
