Working with agents

Create and configure an agent

Create a focused agent for a recurring role, then adjust its identity, models, and spending limit from its settings. Agents are useful when a responsibility needs its own name, working preferences, or boundary—but they do not replace clear instructions and review.

When to use this

Create an agent when the work has a distinct outcome, needs different context, or should use different model or spending settings. Keep work with your current agent when the goal, context, and approval rules are the same. For guidance on what information to provide, see Give an agent context.

Before you begin

  • Make sure your Otto is online. Agents are created on the device, so the Create agent button is unavailable while Otto is offline.
  • Decide what the agent owns. A name such as “Weekly planning” or “Customer research” is more useful than a broad label such as “Research agent.”
  • Start with a short description of how the agent should behave. You can refine its personality later.

Create an agent

  1. Open the navigation menu. On a narrow window or phone, open the menu from the chat; on a wider desktop window, use the sidebar.
  2. Select New agent.
  3. In the New agent sheet, enter an Agent name. This field is required.
  4. Optionally fill in Personality with instructions about who the agent is and how it should behave. The field accepts up to 8,000 characters.
  5. Select Create agent.

The new agent becomes the selected agent and you return to chat. Its first conversation is ready for you to give it a concrete task. Creating an agent only creates the role; it does not automatically connect apps, create an automation, or give the agent permission to take outside actions.

Open an agent's settings

  1. Open the navigation menu and select the agent you want to configure.
  2. Open that agent's settings. The agent page shows Models, Identity, and Limits.

Identity

Select Identity to change the following fields:

  • Agent name — the name shown in the navigation and conversations. It is required and can be up to 80 characters.
  • What it calls you — optional. Leave it blank to use your account name.
  • Personality — optional instructions about the agent's character and behavior, up to 8,000 characters.

Select Save after making changes. The button is enabled only when there is something to save, and a successful save briefly shows Saved before the settings page closes. Otto must be online to edit these device settings. If a save fails, keep the page open, check the connection, and try again.

Models

Select Models to choose this agent's defaults for Chat, Automations, and Background work. A newly created agent follows this Otto's default model for each role. To give the agent its own choice, open a role and select a model; to return it to the Otto-wide setting, choose Use the default model.

Model choices require a connection to the device. If the Otto release does not support per-agent model settings yet, the page tells you to update Otto and continues using the device-wide models instead.

Limits

Select Limits to set a spend cap for this agent. You can choose a Limit in dollars and a Reset period of Daily, Weekly, or Monthly. The settings determine what happens at the cap:

  • Stop active run interrupts a run as soon as it crosses the limit.
  • Stop further runs blocks new runs after the limit is reached.
  • Alert limit is hit, Alert At 90%, and Alert At 75% control notifications.
  • Enabled turns enforcement on or off without deleting the saved limit.

Select Save limit for a new limit or Update limit for an existing one. You can remove an existing cap with Delete limit. A limit is a spending control; it does not grant app access or change approval requirements.

Troubleshooting

  • Create agent is unavailable: bring Otto online and wait for its status to settle, then reopen New agent.
  • No agent selected: return to the navigation menu and select an agent before opening its settings.
  • Models are unavailable: reconnect Otto. If no models are listed, the device may still be loading them; try the row again after the connection is restored.
  • A limit will not save: enter a dollar amount, choose the desired period, and check the error shown below the form. An existing limit can be deleted from the same page.

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