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Build Your First Agent

You build a Sprout agent by describing the job. Sprout picks the apps, the fewest tools that do the job, skills and safety settings. You review it, choose where it runs, and start chatting.

1. Describe the job​

Click New agent in the sidebar. Under What should your agent do?, write one sentence, for example:

  • "Answer my customers from our Notion FAQ"
  • "Every morning, summarize my unread email and today's meetings"
  • "Research a company before my sales calls"

Click Build it. You can also click one of the quick ideas under the box, like Inbox assistant or Meeting prep.

Or start from a template​

Scroll to Templates to browse ready-made agents by category, such as Everyday, Small business, Engineering, Sales, Support or Finance, or search for one. Click a template to see what it Connects to, the skills it Ships with, and what to Try asking, then click Use this template.

2. Watch it grow​

Sprout shows what it's doing while it builds the agent: reading your request, searching Willow's MCP servers, choosing tools, scoring them for risk, writing instructions and skills, and applying Willow's guards. Then it lists what it decided:

  • The apps it connects.
  • Any apps it Can't connect here yet. Sprout leaves them out rather than swapping in a different app.
  • How many tools it picked, how many ask before they run, and any rules.
  • The skills it wrote.
  • Secured by Willow: secrets and personal data masked, the prompt-injection shield, memory, and the daily message limit.

Every new agent starts safe: tools that change data ask you first, high-risk tools are off, memory is on, and it answers up to 100 messages a day.

3. Choose where it runs​

Under Where should it run?, pick:

  • Willow Agents: chat with it on the web or in Slack.
  • Instinct: a private link and password that open its tools in Instinct.
  • Grok Bot: a remote MCP server for Grok, opened with a password.

If your sentence already named one, Sprout sets it up there. You can change it later under the agent's Settings. See Where your agent runs.

4. Connect your accounts​

The agent opens on its Overview tab. Under Sign in to its tools, click Connect next to each app and sign in. Willow's gateway keeps the sign-in; the agent never sees your password or key.

For Instinct or Grok Bot, follow the Connect steps on the overview instead. See Access bundles.

5. Try it​

Send a message in the Try it panel. When a tool needs your approval, click Approve or Deny right in the chat. See Chat with your agent.

Not quite right? Ask for a change in plain language from the bar on the Connectors or Skills tab, like "make it friendlier" or "also check Notion before answering". See The agent page.

Manage your agents​

My agents lists every agent with where it runs, its apps, its safety score, and when it was last used. Hover over an agent to:

  • Pause or Go live.
  • Duplicate it. The copy is named "(copy)".
  • Delete it.

Your plan limits how many agents can be live at once. When every live spot is used, pause an agent to make room for a new one. See Plans and billing.

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