When to use this
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You want to create a new Specialist Agent for a specific topic
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You edited a Specialist Agent and it "doesn't show up" or isn't being triggered
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You don't know the difference between a draft Specialist Agent and a published one
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You want to test a Specialist Agent before putting it live
Prerequisites
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Administrator access to the project's Hub
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A Supervisor already set up in the project (the Specialist Agent needs to be linked to it in order to go into production)
About this article
Every Specialist Agent goes through a lifecycle: it is created as a draft, is linked to the Supervisor, tested in the Playground, and only then published to serve real customers. This article explains each of these stages and the most common reasons a Specialist Agent "disappears" or isn't triggered.
Step by step
Step 1 — Create the Specialist Agent
On the Hub's Agents screen, create a new Specialist Agent with a clear name and description (see "What Specialist Agents are and how the Supervisor decides who answers" for tips on how to write this description). Once created, it stays in draft — only visible for configuration, not yet used in any real conversation.
Step 2 — Link it to the Supervisor
For the Specialist Agent to be triggered, it needs to be on the Supervisor's list of specialists. This link is made in the Supervisor's own configuration, by adding the new Specialist Agent to the list.
Step 3 — Test it in the Playground
Before publishing, test the new Specialist Agent in the Playground. In the Playground selector, the Sub-agents group lets you test the Specialist Agent on its own, and the Supervisors group lets you test the full flow (the Supervisor deciding whether or not to trigger the new Specialist Agent). No message sent in the Playground reaches real customers.
Step 4 — Publish
While it's still a draft, the Specialist Agent can't be used in production — it needs to be published first. Once published, today you need to reach out to someone on the team through Support to activate it in production.
Notes
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"I created the Specialist Agent but it doesn't show up / isn't triggered" — in the vast majority of cases, it's one of these two situations: (1) it's still a draft and hasn't been published, or (2) it's no longer linked to the right Supervisor. Check these two things before opening a support ticket.
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"An error came up saying the Supervisor is locked" — this is usually concurrency: someone else (or another tab) is editing the same Supervisor at the same time. Wait a few seconds and try again.
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Once published, use conversation auditing to confirm the Specialist Agent is being triggered as expected — see "Gradual activation (A/B testing) and auditing of a Specialist Agent".