03 / Tools & Environment
Tool
A capability handed to the agent: read a file, run a command, search, send a message. Tools are how an agent senses and changes anything outside the conversation. No tools, no agency.
How you’ll hear it
“Can it check our stock levels?”
“Only if we give it a tool that does. Otherwise it will guess.”
Avoid
Expecting an agent to reach systems it has no tool for.
The longer version
A tool is a capability given to an agent: searching, reading a file, querying a database, sending a message. Tools are how it gets real information and takes real action. The list of tools you grant is, in effect, its job description and its risk profile.