Add tools to Rovo agents
Rovo agents use tools (individual actions) and skills (reusable, multi-step instructions) to get work done.
What's the difference between a skill and tool?
This page explains how to add tools to your agent, and what to expect when using them. Read more about how to add skills to Rovo agents
Get to know tools
Tools are the individual actions an agent can perform. Each one does a single, specific thing.
Here are some examples:
Tool | App | Description |
|---|---|---|
Create work item | Jira | Create a work item in a Jira space. |
Update status | Jira | Update a Jira work item's status. |
Search with JQL | Jira | Search Jira with a JQL (Jira Query Language) expression. |
Create page | Confluence | Create a new formatted, rich text document or page in Confluence. |
Edit page | Confluence | Add content to a Confluence page (it will always insert to the bottom of the page). |
Move page | Confluence | Move the given Confluence page. |
Raise a request | JSM | Create a new service request in Jira Service Management. |
Summarize incident | JSM | Create a comprehensive summary of a given incident in Jira Service Management. |
Send email from Gmail | Send an email from your Gmail account. | |
Create Google calendar event | Create a new event in Google Calendar. |
You can see the full list of tools when you create or edit your own agent. Otherwise, you'll see the tools a particular agent can use by viewing its profile.
Add tools to your agent
While there are many tools to choose from, try to create an agent for a very specific use case.
To set up your agent with specific tools:
Navigate to Studio using the App switcher ()
Select your agent's Details from the side bar.
Review and select Edit to make changes.
Navigate to Tools, and select Add tools.
Browse all tools, search for them by name, or filter by app.
Select the tools you want to include.
Select Add.
The tools you selected will appear in your agent's profile, so people browsing for agents can find the agent that’s best suited to their needs.
Connect third-party tools
You can also connect tools that allow an agent to act outside of an Atlassian app.
Before you use these tools, you must first connect your Atlassian account with the third-party product. This makes sure the agent can't access restricted information, or do anything that you wouldn't normally be able to do. It sets up the agent with the appropriate access to work on your behalf, but no additional access.
During the connection process, you'll be redirected to the third-party authentication page where you can grant the agent access. Once you've granted access, you can continue using that tool in future agent chats and won't need to authenticate again.
Any third-party tools performed by an agent will appear as if it was performed by you, the human user of the agent. For example, if you ask an agent to send a Slack message, the message will appear as if you sent it.
To revoke agent access to a connected app:
Navigate to Studio using the App switcher ()
Find your profile avatar in the top navigation, then select Account settings.
Navigate to the Connected apps tab.
Select Remove access for the relevant third-party app.
If you change your mind, you can re-authenticate again so the agent can continue to use third-party tools.
Create your own tool
Developers using Forge can now publish their tool modules so they can be used by Rovo agents created by users in your organization.
This means user-created agents can access data that the app itself might not have been able to reach, without the need to personally write code.
If you publish your own tool module, it will only be visible to your organization or, if you choose, it can be published on the Atlassian Marketplace.
Read more about creating tools as a developer
What to expect when you chat with an agent
Simply ask the agent to help with a task the same way you might ask your teammate. For example:
Create a work item in Jira about writing a research summary
Create a Confluence page named ‘My week in summary’
Move this work item to the In progress status
Prepare a status update for my team
Some tools have limitations or have required fields you'll need to provide the agent. For example:
Bulk actions in Jira are currently limited to 20 work items at a time.
Creating work items in Jira will sometimes require additional input from you if there are required fields.
Calendar invites created with an agent are limited to four attendees at once.
The agent will respond asking for confirmation before executing consequential tools that may mutate data across systems.
Agent permissions
Tools and skills always respect the permissions of the person using the agent. An agent can only access information and perform actions that you already have permission to do. If you can't view a Confluence page or edit a Jira work item, neither can the agent acting on your behalf. This applies to both Atlassian and third-party tools.
Agents in automation
If an agent is triggered in an automation flow, it cannot use its own tools. It can only provide a text response, which can then be used in subsequent automation actions via the {{agentResponse}} smart value.
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