Advanced Captain: scenarios and custom tools

Overview

The Captain does not have to be limited to answering questions from the knowledge base. Two advanced features turn the assistant into an agent:

• Scenarios: guided playbooks, attached to an assistant, that describe a script (instructions/steps) to follow in specific situations — for example, qualifying a lead or running a collection flow.
• Custom tools: HTTP calls the assistant can invoke during a conversation to read or write data in your systems (look up an order, validate a document, open a ticket).

Together they turn static answers into service that follows processes and fetches information in real time, while always keeping the option to hand off to a human.

Prerequisites

• The Captain feature enabled on the account and at least one assistant already created (scenarios and tools attach to it).
• Administrator permission to create, edit and delete scenarios and tools.
• Custom tools may require an extra flag (custom_tools or the Captain v2 integration). If the tools menu does not appear, ask an administrator to enable it.
• For tools that call your systems: the endpoint URL, the HTTP method and, when applicable, the authentication credentials.

Step by step

1. Open the Captain area and select (or create) the assistant that will receive the advanced features.
2. Create a scenario: provide a title, a description and the instruction (the script/steps the assistant should follow). Optionally restrict which tools the scenario may use and leave it enabled.
3. Create a custom tool: define title, description, endpoint URL, HTTP method, the parameters the AI must fill in, and the authentication type.
4. Test the tool with the test button — the platform performs a real request and shows the status and a snippet of the response, so you can validate before enabling it.
5. Enable the tool and, if you wish, associate it with a specific scenario.
6. Perform bulk knowledge maintenance (approve responses, sync/delete documents) and review the agents' copilot history.
7. Test with real questions in the assistant playground and tune instructions, parameters and scope.

Settings & options

Scenarios

Each scenario belongs to an assistant and has:

• Title and description: identify the scenario and when it applies.
• Instruction: the script in natural language — the steps the assistant should follow in that context.
• Tools: the list of tools the scenario is allowed to use.
• Enabled: turns the scenario on/off; only enabled scenarios are available to the assistant.

Scenarios can be created, edited and deleted at any time without affecting the rest of the knowledge.

Custom tools

A tool describes an HTTP call the assistant can trigger:

The platform may cap the number of tools per account; once the limit is reached, creation is blocked with a clear message.

Bulk knowledge

• Responses (assistant responses): bulk actions to approve pending responses or delete several at once, speeding up knowledge curation.
• Documents (assistant documents): bulk actions to delete or re-sync documents (only documents that can be synced are reprocessed).
• Copilot threads: the copilot history is per user and tied to an assistant. Each query consumes the account's Captain response quota; when it runs out, the copilot notifies instead of answering.

Use cases

• Order lookup via tool: the customer asks "where is my order?"; the assistant calls a custom tool that queries your system and replies with the real status.
• Guided collection via scenario: a scenario describes the collection script (greeting, data confirmation, sending the payment link) and the assistant follows it step by step.
• Guided scheduling: a scenario that drives the booking and uses a tool to check available times.
• Fast curation: the team uses bulk actions to approve dozens of responses and re-sync documents after a content update.

Tips, limits & best practices

• Start with a narrow scope: a few scenarios and one or two tools; expand as you gain confidence in the results.
• Clear descriptions on tools and parameters help the AI choose and fill them in correctly.
• Always test the tool before enabling, and review real executions periodically.
• Keep the handoff: always offer a clear path to talk to a human when the AI cannot resolve.
• Scenario vs. tool: the scenario defines what to do (the script); the tool defines how to fetch or record data (the HTTP call).

Troubleshooting

• The tool does not appear: the custom tools feature may not be enabled for the account (flag). Ask an administrator.
• The scenario does not trigger: confirm it is enabled and attached to the correct assistant, and that the instruction clearly describes when to apply it.
• The tool returned an error: use the test to see the status and response; review URL, method, parameters and authentication. Down endpoints or invalid credentials cause failures.
• I cannot create more tools: you may have reached the account's tool limit.
• The copilot stopped answering: the Captain response quota may have run out for the period.

See also

• Bots and Captain (service AI)
• Flow Builder: visual conversational flows
• Automation rules: triggers, conditions and actions