Create an agent
Agents are the specialists that do the work in your bot. Nexus has two types, and the first thing you do when creating one is choose which: a conversational agent that reasons out each reply on its own, or a guided agent that runs a fixed flow you design. This page covers the Create picker, how to choose, and where to go next for each type.
Both types share the same Agents page and the same Create entry point - they only diverge once you pick. (Whichever you build, the bot-wide Configuration still applies to it; Configuration is project-level and shapes every agent.)
Step 1: Open the Agents page
In your bot, go to AI Agent → Agents. The page header reads Agents, with What's new, Publish, and Create in the top-right. Below the header are two tabs:
- Conversational (N) - your LLM-driven agents (prompt + trigger, Live/Draft status, round avatar).
- Guided (N) - your guided agents (flow icon, a Category tag, no status).
The active tab is saved in the URL (?tab=guided), so a link you share reopens on the same tab.
Step 2: Click Create and choose a type
Click Create in the top-right. The "What would you like to create?" picker opens with two options:
| Option | Studio description |
|---|---|
| Conversational agent | "Understands the question, asks for anything it's missing, and works out each reply on its own from your knowledge. Great for use cases like troubleshooting and support - diagnosing errors, fixing login and device issues, or guiding people to a resolution, step by step." |
| Guided agent | "Runs the exact steps you design, in the same order every time, so nothing is missed and every run stays consistent and auditable. Great for multi-step use cases like order returns, loan applications, KYC checks, or booking an appointment." |
Which one should I pick?
| You want… | Build a… |
|---|---|
| Open-ended help where each reply is reasoned from your knowledge - troubleshooting, support, diagnosing errors, free-form Q&A | Conversational agent |
| A fixed sequence of steps that runs identically every time and stays auditable - returns, KYC, loan applications, bookings | Guided agent |
| Mostly open-ended help, but with one procedure that must run the same way every time | Conversational agent that calls a guided agent as a tool |
| A deterministic flow with one or two steps that need open-ended reasoning | Guided agent with a Conversational Agent node inside it |
Tip - you can mix both. A guided agent can include Conversational Agent nodes for the steps that genuinely need open-ended reasoning, while the flow keeps the overall sequence deterministic. And every guided agent is automatically available as a tool to your conversational agents - so a conversational agent can pull a deterministic journey into an otherwise open-ended conversation. You rarely have to pick one type forever.
Step 3: Name your agent
Whichever type you chose, give the agent a clear, task-based name that says what it does - order-status, billing, order-return, kyc-verification. The name is the slug your routing rules, @-mentions, and other agents will reference (a conversational agent calls a guided agent by this name when it uses it as a tool), so make it self-explanatory.
Naming tips:
- Name the job, not the topic.
order-returnbeatsreturns-stuff;loan-applicationbeatsloans. - Use the same casing as your other agents so the list stays scannable.
- Avoid duplicate names - each agent needs a distinct name.
Step 4: Continue based on the type you chose
The two types diverge from here:
- Conversational agent → you land on the agent's profile, where you write its Trigger, Agent instructions, and attach tools. Continue to Conversational agents.
- Guided agent → you land on the flow canvas, where you add nodes and wire them into a flow. Continue to Guided agents overview and then The guided flow canvas.
Note: The two types share the Agents page but are separate entities under the hood. A guided agent has no Live/Draft status - a flow has no draft lifecycle - and it shows a generated flow icon instead of an avatar. For the full distinction, see Guided agents overview.