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An agent is only as capable as what you give it. Skills teach it how to do a job the expert way, tools and connectors let it act in NetSuite and other systems, and write approvals keep you in control of every change.
The visual agent builder showing a Chat Trigger connected to an Erstan action node, with the Add Step panel

The visual agent builder

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Skills vs. tools vs. connectors

These three work together but do different things. Set them on an agent’s steps in the visual builder.
Think of a skill as judgment (when and how to do something) and a tool as a capability (the actual action). A good agent usually needs both — a skill that knows your AR collections process, plus NetSuite tools to read invoices and draft outreach.

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Adding skills to an agent

Skills give an agent repeatable know-how — your dunning policy, how you categorize vendor bills, the exact SuiteQL pattern your team trusts.
1

Open the agent in the builder

From the Agents library, open the agent you want to edit. Select the AI step (for example AI Respond or AI Agent) that should use the skill.
2

Attach the skill

In the inspector, add the skill from your workspace library. Only Published skills (marked Agent ready) appear — a Draft skill is not usable by an agent yet.
3

Save and preview

Save the agent, then Preview a run to confirm the agent follows the skill’s guidance before you publish.
If the skill you want is still a Draft, publish it first. See Publishing, sharing & lifecycle. To build a new one, see Creating and editing skills.

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Selecting connector tools

Tools are the actions an agent can actually take. They come from your connectors:
  • NetSuite — read records, run read-only SuiteQL, and (with approval) create or update records such as invoices, vendor bills, and customer messages.
  • Built-in Erstan tools — utility actions that need no setup.
  • Other connectors — Slack, MCP servers, and more (see Connectors overview).
In the builder, connector actions live under the By Connector node category. Add an action step, then pick the connector and the specific tool it should run. For the full catalog of step types, see the Step reference. For the source-based tool catalog, see Tools overview, Tools by Erstan, and Tools by connector.

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The “Connection required” banner

A step can only run if its connector is connected and authorized. If something is missing, the agent shows an amber Connection required banner, and the run is blocked until you resolve it.
An owner or admin sets up the shared workspace connection once. Open Connectors and connect the system the step needs.
NetSuite uses per-user authorization — each member authorizes their own NetSuite user and role before agents can act as them. Authorize from the connector’s Setup tab, or from the Authorization Required card in chat. See Authorizing your NetSuite user.
Scheduled and form-triggered agents run under a specific user. If that identity isn’t configured or consented, the builder flags Trigger setup and publishing is blocked. See Preview, publish & versions.

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Write-capable tools need approval

Reading data is safe. Writing to NetSuite — creating or updating records — changes your books, so Erstan gates it. Every NetSuite tool has a write policy an owner or admin sets on the connector’s Tools tab:
Write-capable NetSuite tools require approval by default. When an agent reaches one, it pauses and shows an approval card with a before/after preview — nothing is written until you approve. Loosen this only when you fully trust the action. Manage write policy per tool on the Managing NetSuite: tools & write policy page, and review how approvals work in Approving and rejecting AI actions.
You can add an explicit AI Approval step in the builder to force a human check at a specific point in a run, even for actions that would otherwise be allowed. See the Step reference.

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Next steps

The visual builder

Add steps, attach skills and tools, and resolve connection warnings.

Step reference

Every step type, including By Connector actions and AI Approval.

Managing NetSuite tools

Set write policy (Allow / Require approval / Deny) per tool.

Security & write safety

How per-user authorization and approvals keep your data safe.