> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.maiagent.ai/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.maiagent.ai/maiagent-user-guide/en/tools/configure_tools.md).

# Configure Tools for an AI Assistant

The tools you have created can now be selected in AI assistant settings, giving your AI assistants more powerful capabilities. This guide explains how to configure the tools you have created for a specific AI assistant.

## Configure Tools <a href="#configure-tools" id="configure-tools"></a>

### 1. Enter AI Assistant Settings <a href="#step-1-enter-ai-agent-settings" id="step-1-enter-ai-agent-settings"></a>

First, navigate to the "<mark style="color:blue;">AI Features</mark>" section from the left navigation bar, then click "<mark style="color:blue;">AI Assistants</mark>". This will display a list of all AI assistants created in your account.

### 2. Select the AI Assistant to Configure <a href="#step-2-select-ai-agent" id="step-2-select-ai-agent"></a>

In the AI assistant list, find the assistant you want to configure tools for, and click the "<mark style="color:blue;">Edit</mark>" button to enter the detailed settings page for that assistant.

### 3. Switch the AI Assistant's Response Mode <a href="#step-3-switch-qa-mode" id="step-3-switch-qa-mode"></a>

{% hint style="danger" %}
**Important prerequisite:** Only AI assistants set to **Agent Mode** can use tools. If your AI assistant is in another mode (e.g., General (Default) response mode), you cannot configure or use tools for it.
{% endhint %}

On the AI assistant's settings page, switch to the "<mark style="color:blue;">Response Mode Settings</mark>" page tab.

* **Check**: Confirm whether the currently selected mode is "<mark style="color:blue;">Agent Mode</mark>"
* **Change**: If it is not currently in Agent Mode, please **switch** it to Agent Mode.

### 4. Navigate to the Tool Configuration Page <a href="#step-4-go-to-tool-config-page" id="step-4-go-to-tool-config-page"></a>

On the AI assistant's settings page, find the "<mark style="color:blue;">🔧 Tools</mark>" page tab.

### 5. Select Tools to Enable <a href="#step-5-select-enabled-tools" id="step-5-select-enabled-tools"></a>

On this tool configuration page, click the "<mark style="color:blue;">➕ Select Tools</mark>" button in the upper right corner. This will open a list of pre-built tools, where you can perform the following actions.

* **Actions**:
  1. Browse the list and find the tools you want this AI assistant to be able to use.
  2. Check the checkbox next to the tools you want to enable.
  3. You can select any number of tools based on the AI assistant's tasks and needs.

{% hint style="info" %}
You can select MaiAgent built-in tools or tools you have defined yourself
{% endhint %}

{% hint style="info" %}
**Tip:** Make sure to only configure tools that the AI assistant actually needs and is authorized to use. Configuring too many irrelevant tools may affect the AI's judgment accuracy and response efficiency.
{% endhint %}

### 6. Review Selected Tools <a href="#step-6-review-selected-tools" id="step-6-review-selected-tools"></a>

After completing your selections, you can review the tools configured for the AI assistant once more to ensure the correct tools have been configured for this AI assistant.

## Control System Functions <a href="#control-system-functions" id="control-system-functions"></a>

In addition to the tools you select, AI assistants have system functions enabled by default, such as searching the current conversation history, reading attachments, and generating download links. You can disable these functions individually based on each AI assistant's needs to reduce unnecessary token usage and make the assistant's behavior more predictable.

For example, a customer service supervisor creates an AI assistant that only answers frequently asked questions and does not process attachments. She opens the assistant's advanced settings, disables attachment reading and parsing, and saves the changes. The assistant can still answer knowledge base questions, but it will no longer attempt to parse files uploaded by customers.

{% stepper %}
{% step %}

### 1. Open Advanced Settings <a href="#open-advanced-settings" id="open-advanced-settings"></a>

Open the AI assistant you want to adjust and select <mark style="color:blue;">Advanced Settings</mark> from the left side of the settings page.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### 2. Adjust System Functions <a href="#adjust-system-functions" id="adjust-system-functions"></a>

Scroll to <mark style="color:blue;">System Functions</mark>, then enable or disable the following functions as needed:

* Search conversation history
* Get surrounding message context
* Read plain-text attachments
* Parse attachment content
* List available parsers
* Generate download links

After a function is disabled, the assistant can no longer use it, which may affect related responses.

<figure><img src="https://1360999650-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F6v6TNkkOQVfRYfcNirHL%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-c9c94f6d31a9899182ab5b66fa1269ecbff5cfa7%2Fai-agent-system-functions.png?alt=media" alt="System function toggles in the AI assistant&#x27;s advanced settings"><figcaption><p>Enable or disable system functions based on the AI assistant's purpose</p></figcaption></figure>
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### 3. Save the Settings <a href="#save-system-functions" id="save-system-functions"></a>

Click <mark style="color:blue;">Save</mark> in the lower-right corner to apply the settings.
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}

{% hint style="info" %}
The last four functions in the list only work in <mark style="color:blue;">Agent Mode</mark>. If you cannot change these toggles, go to <mark style="color:blue;">Response Mode Settings</mark> and switch to Agent Mode first.
{% endhint %}

### 7. 💾 Save AI Assistant Settings <a href="#step-7-save-ai-agent-settings" id="step-7-save-ai-agent-settings"></a>

After completing your tool selections, **make sure to** click the "<mark style="color:blue;">Save</mark>" button to save the changes you have made to the AI assistant settings.

## Configure MaiAgent Built-in Tools <a href="#configure-maiagent-builtin-tools" id="configure-maiagent-builtin-tools"></a>

MaiAgent has four built-in AI image generation tools that you can apply to your AI assistants based on your needs, with no additional setup required:

{% hint style="info" %}
For a comparison of the four tools, please refer to: [MaiAgent Built-in AI Image Generation Tools](/maiagent-user-guide/en/tools/ai-image-generation-guide.md)
{% endhint %}

<figure><img src="https://1360999650-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F6v6TNkkOQVfRYfcNirHL%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-84ad24514cbde2c5beee4fdba44b8e5d2db3f18e%2Fimage%20(7)%20(1).png?alt=media" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

***

Now, your selected AI assistant has the ability to use these enabled tools. When interacting with this assistant, if a relevant scenario is triggered, the AI will attempt to call these tools to complete tasks or retrieve information.


---

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