Recorded: Feb 23, 2026
Day 1: Agents
Gumloop is the easiest way to build and orchestrate agents. Today we’re exploring the different ways of using agents in Gumloop to accomplish work.
Chat vs. Agents
Gumloop gives you two ways to work with AI, and knowing when to use each one matters.
Chat is for ad hoc tasks. You type a message, and the AI uses your connected tools to get the answer. “What’s on my calendar today?” “Summarize my emails from the last hour.” “Look up this company.” It’s fast, open-ended, and you guide it message by message. Chat has access to all of your connected apps, so you don’t need to set anything up. Go to chat
Agents are for specific or recurring tasks. Unlike chat, you give an agent a curated set of tools and detailed instructions upfront. It already knows what to do before you say anything. Think of an agent as an intern you’ve onboarded: you’ve told them their role, given them access to the right systems, and explained the process. From there, they handle the work. Build an agent
| Chat | Agent | |
|---|---|---|
| Tools | All connected apps | Only the ones you choose |
| Instructions | None, you guide it message by message | You define them upfront |
| Best for | Ad hoc, one-off tasks | Specific or recurring tasks |
Tools
Tools are the integrations your agent can use to get things done: Google Sheets, Slack, your CRM, Apollo, and 100+ more. You can also give agents built-in capabilities like web search and image generation. The more relevant tools you connect, the more useful your agent becomes.
Instructions
Instructions tell your agent how to behave. They define the role, the workflow, the boundaries, and the output format. Two agents with the same tools but different instructions will behave completely differently. Good instructions are the difference between an agent your team ignores and one they rely on. For a deeper look at writing effective instructions, see the Writing Great Instructions lesson.
Bring Your Agents Where You Work
Agents don’t have to live inside Gumloop. You can deploy them to Slack so your team can use them right where they already communicate. Set up a custom Slack app, connect it to your agent, and anyone on your team can message the agent directly in a channel or DM. No context switching, no new tools to learn.
Skills
When your instructions start getting long, Skills let you break them into reusable, focused pieces. A Skill is a set of instructions for a specific task that only loads when the agent needs it. This keeps your agent focused, reduces token usage, and lets you share the same Skill across multiple agents. You don’t need Skills on day one, but they’re the natural next step once your agent’s instructions grow beyond a page.
Tomorrow is your first challenge: build your own agent. Start thinking about a task you or your team does repeatedly that an agent could handle.