How to build a Custom Agent

By Notion

Categories: Product, Tools

Summary

Notion's Custom Agents automate repetitive, low-impact tasks like answering FAQs and routing requests by describing desired outcomes through chat. Build agents by identifying tedious work, setting clear triggers and instructions, configuring proper access permissions, and testing before deployment.

Key Takeaways

1. Identify automation candidates by finding routine, repetitive tasks that are low-impact but consume significant weekly time, then validate with 'would my whole team benefit?' test.
2. Design clear instructions using simple if-then logic rather than step-by-step directions—let the AI determine implementation while you guide judgment with examples and constraints.
3. Configure granular permission controls by reviewing access for each tool and data source, using view-only access by default and only granting edit permissions when necessary.
4. Test agents before rollout by posting actual questions in your target channel and evaluating response quality, tone, and data accuracy before wider deployment.
5. Use the Activity tab to monitor agent performance over time and leverage Version History to experiment with changes confidently and rollback if needed.

Topics

• AI Automation for Knowledge Management
• Workflow Automation Best Practices
• Permission and Access Control
• Trigger Configuration and Event-Driven Automation
• Testing and Iterating Agent Behavior

Transcript Excerpt

I could reply to the same  question in Slack every week… …or let a Custom Agent take it off my plate. I could manually sort and route incoming requests… …or let another agent organize the chaos for me. I could compile and send weekly reports myself… …or set up a Custom Agent once and  relax while it runs in the background. With Notion, Custom Agents do the busy work so your time goes where it’s actually useful. Here’s how to build one. The first step is spotting the work  that’s tedious and tim...