Build and Deploy AI Agents on Parallel AI

What Are AI Agents?

Agents are the core building blocks of Parallel AI. Each agent is a fully configurable AI assistant that you can deploy across multiple channels — website widget, email, SMS, and voice — to engage your customers automatically. Agents can be equipped with:

Custom system prompts to define personality, tone, and purpose
Knowledge base access to answer questions from your uploaded documents
Multi-step tool calling to chain multiple actions in a single conversation turn
Lead capture to passively extract and store contact information from conversations
Channel-specific settings for fine-grained control per deployment surface

Agent Configuration Fields

Field	Type	Description
`name`	string	Display name for the agent
`systemPrompt`	string	Base system prompt that defines the agent’s behavior and persona
`agentPrompt`	string	Additional prompt appended to the system prompt for extra instructions
`model`	string	The LLM to use (default: `gpt-4o-mini`)
`isActive`	boolean	Whether the agent is live and accepting conversations
`channelSettings`	object	Per-channel configuration (see Channel Types)
`knowledgeBaseEnabled`	boolean	Enables document search from your knowledge base
`knowledgeBaseScope`	string	Folder path to limit knowledge base search (e.g., `/shared/Support`)
`multiStepToolsEnabled`	boolean	Allows the agent to chain multiple tool-calling turns
`multiStepMaxTurns`	integer	Max chained tool turns, between `1` and `10` (default: `5`)
`aiContactCaptureEnabled`	boolean	Passively extracts contact info from conversations
`leadFields`	array	Custom fields to capture from leads
`customColors`	object	Branding colors for the widget UI
`avatarImage`	string	URL of the agent’s avatar image
`contactListId`	string	ID of the Smart List where captured leads are saved

Channel Types

Agents can be deployed across four channel types. Each is configured independently under channelSettings.

Website Widget

Embed a chat widget on any webpage. Customize colors, avatar, and welcome message to match your brand.

Email

Connect an email address so the agent reads and responds to inbound emails automatically.

SMS

Attach a phone number to your agent and handle text message conversations at scale.

Voice

Deploy the agent on a voice channel for automated phone call handling.

Configure each channel inside the channelSettings object:

{
  "channelSettings": {
    "website": { "enabled": true },
    "email":   { "enabled": true, "address": "support@example.com" },
    "sms":     { "enabled": true, "phoneNumber": "+15551234567" },
    "voice":   { "enabled": false }
  }
}

Creating an Agent

Define your agent's purpose

Write a clear systemPrompt that describes what the agent should do, its tone, and any constraints (e.g., “Only answer questions about our product.”).

Choose your channels

Enable the channels your customers use. You can always add more later by updating the agent.

Enable the knowledge base (optional)

If your agent needs to answer questions from documents, set knowledgeBaseEnabled: true and upload documents via the Documents feature.

Create via API

Send a POST /api/v0/agents request with your configuration.

curl -X POST "https://api.parallellabs.app/api/v0/agents" \
  -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "Support Agent",
    "systemPrompt": "You are a helpful customer support agent.",
    "model": "gpt-4o-mini",
    "knowledgeBaseEnabled": true,
    "channelSettings": {
      "website": {"enabled": true},
      "email": {"enabled": true, "address": "support@example.com"}
    }
  }'

import requests

response = requests.post(
    "https://api.parallellabs.app/api/v0/agents",
    headers={
        "X-API-Key": "YOUR_API_KEY",
        "Content-Type": "application/json"
    },
    json={
        "name": "Support Agent",
        "systemPrompt": "You are a helpful customer support agent.",
        "model": "gpt-4o-mini",
        "knowledgeBaseEnabled": True,
        "channelSettings": {
            "website": {"enabled": True},
            "email": {"enabled": True, "address": "support@example.com"}
        }
    }
)
print(response.json())

Shareable Agent URL

Every agent is automatically assigned a shortCode upon creation. Use it to build a public-facing URL for your agent:

https://parallellabs.app/a/<shortCode>

Share this link with customers to give them instant access to your agent via the web widget — no embed required.

Multi-Step Tool Calling

When multiStepToolsEnabled is true, your agent can chain tool calls across multiple turns in a single conversation exchange. This is useful for complex workflows where the agent needs to look up information, process a result, and then take a follow-up action. Use multiStepMaxTurns to cap the number of chained turns (between 1 and 10, default 5) to control cost and latency.

Start with multiStepMaxTurns: 3 for most use cases. Only increase it if your workflows genuinely require deeper reasoning chains.

AI Contact Capture

When aiContactCaptureEnabled is true, the agent passively monitors conversations for contact information (name, email, phone number, etc.) and automatically saves it to the linked Smart List defined by contactListId. No explicit form or prompt is needed — the agent extracts contact details naturally as they appear in conversation.

To store captured leads, set contactListId to the ID of an existing Smart List. If no list is linked, captured data will not be persisted.

Next Steps

Agents API Reference

Explore the full list, create, update, and delete endpoints for agents.

Knowledge Base Documents

Upload documents to power your agent’s knowledge base.

Smart Lists

Set up contact lists to store leads captured by your agents.

Sequences

Build automated outreach campaigns for captured leads.

Get Started

Core Features

Integrations

Platform

Build and Deploy AI Agents on Parallel AI

What Are AI Agents?

Agent Configuration Fields

Channel Types

Website Widget

Email

SMS

Voice

Creating an Agent

Shareable Agent URL

Multi-Step Tool Calling

AI Contact Capture

Next Steps

Agents API Reference

Knowledge Base Documents

Smart Lists

Sequences

​What Are AI Agents?

​Agent Configuration Fields

​Channel Types

Website Widget

Email

SMS

Voice

​Creating an Agent

​Shareable Agent URL

​Multi-Step Tool Calling

​AI Contact Capture

​Next Steps

Agents API Reference

Knowledge Base Documents

Smart Lists

Sequences

What Are AI Agents?

Agent Configuration Fields

Channel Types

Creating an Agent

Shareable Agent URL

Multi-Step Tool Calling

AI Contact Capture

Next Steps