AI Builder

The AI Builder (also known as "Ask AI to Build") is a smart agent creation wizard that uses AI to scaffold a complete agent configuration from a simple name and description. Instead of manually configuring every setting, describe what you want and let AI do the heavy lifting.

How It Works

1. You provide a name and description — Tell the AI what kind of agent you want (e.g., "A customer support agent for a SaaS product that can look up orders and send emails").
2. Optionally select tools and knowledge sources — Pre-select specific tools or attach existing knowledge sources before generating.
3. AI generates a complete configuration — The scaffold includes a system prompt, recommended model, suggested tools, and knowledge types.
4. Review and edit the preview — Inspect and modify the AI-generated configuration before creating.
5. Configure tool credentials — Set up API keys for tools that need them (optional — can be done later in Agent Studio).
6. Create the agent — One click to create the fully configured agent.

Using the AI Builder

From the Dashboard

1. Click + New Agent to open the Create Agent modal.
2. Select AI Builder from the sidebar.
3. Fill in the fields:

4. (Optional) Click the Wrench icon to pre-select tools from the tool picker.
5. (Optional) Click the Upload icon to attach existing knowledge sources.
6. Click Build with AI.

Quick Action Pills

For fast starts, click one of the pre-built quick action pills:

• Voice Receptionist — Front desk agent that greets callers, routes calls, and takes messages
• Sales Caller — Outbound sales agent that qualifies leads and books demos
• Phone Support Agent — Handles customer support calls with troubleshooting and issue resolution
• Voice Survey Bot — Conducts phone surveys and collects feedback

Clicking a pill pre-fills the name and description, then immediately triggers AI generation.

Tool Picker

The tool picker popover lets you pre-select tools before generating:

• Search — Filter by name or category
• Category pills — Filter by category (Search, Web Scraping, Data, Finance, Communication, etc.)
• Checkbox selection — Toggle tools on/off
• Badge count — Shows how many tools you've selected

Pre-selected tools are prioritized in the AI's recommendations. The AI may also suggest additional tools based on your description.

Knowledge Source Picker

The knowledge source picker shows your existing knowledge sources from the platform:

• Select previously created sources (files, URLs, text, etc.)
• Selected sources are automatically attached to the new agent
• If you haven't created any knowledge sources yet, you can add them later in Agent Studio

Preview Step

After clicking Build with AI, the AI generates a configuration and shows a preview:

What's Shown

You can edit the system prompt directly in the preview. The model and tools are displayed for review.

Actions

• Configure Tools — Proceed to the credentials step for tools that need API keys
• Create Agent — Skip credentials and create immediately (if no tools need configuration)
• Back to Edit — Return to the builder to change your inputs

Credentials Step

If any selected tools require API keys or credentials, the preview shows a Configure Tools button. This step lists each tool and its required credentials:

• Tool name and icon
• Required credential fields (API keys, tokens, secrets)
• Each field shows "Configure in Agent Studio" as a placeholder

This step is informational — credentials are configured in Agent Studio after agent creation. Click Create Agent to proceed.

Via the API

Scaffold an Agent

curl -X POST https://api.thinnest.ai/agents/scaffold \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $THINNESTAI_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "Customer Support Agent",
    "description": "A support agent for an e-commerce store that can look up orders, process returns, and send confirmation emails",
    "selected_tools": ["gmail", "google_sheets"],
    "selected_datasources": ["url", "file"]
  }'

Request Body

Response

{
  "scaffold": {
    "name": "Customer Support Agent",
    "system_prompt": "You are a professional customer support agent for an e-commerce store...",
    "model": "openai/gpt-4o",
    "tools": [
      { "id": "gmail", "name": "Gmail" },
      { "id": "google_sheets", "name": "Google Sheets" },
      { "id": "duckduckgo", "name": "DuckDuckGo" }
    ],
    "knowledge_types": ["FAQ documents", "Return policy", "Product catalog"],
    "reasoning": "Based on your description, I recommend..."
  },
  "selected_datasources": ["url", "file"]
}

The scaffold response includes AI reasoning for its choices. Use the scaffold data to create the agent via the standard agent creation endpoint.

Best Practices

• Be specific in your description — "A booking agent for a dental clinic that checks Google Calendar availability and sends SMS confirmations" produces much better results than "A booking agent."
• Pre-select known tools — If you know you need Gmail and Google Calendar, select them upfront. The AI will incorporate them into the system prompt.
• Review the system prompt — The AI generates a good starting point, but you know your business best. Edit the prompt to add specific details, tone guidelines, or edge case handling.
• Iterate — If the first generation isn't perfect, go back and refine your description. More detail = better results.

Scaffold Flow

For advanced users, the AI Builder can also scaffold complete workflow graphs for the Flow Editor:

curl -X POST https://api.thinnest.ai/agents/scaffold-flow \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $THINNESTAI_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "Lead Qualification Pipeline",
    "description": "Qualify inbound leads, enrich their data, score them, and route hot leads to sales"
  }'

This generates a complete flow graph with nodes, edges, and tool configurations that you can open directly in the Flow Editor.