What an agent is and how it differs from a normal prompt
A normal prompt solves one task in the moment: you open a chat, describe a problem, receive an answer, and leave. An agent operates inside a defined workflow. It knows its role, tone, first questions, and which facts it must never invent. That makes the same agent reusable for support, lead qualification, daily briefings, or content preparation.
The main advantage is moving a repeatable decision process out of your head and into a clear instruction. You define what a good result looks like once, then review exceptions and complex cases instead of supervising every message. That saves attention, keeps communication consistent, and reduces missed requests.
How to create your first agent in Cormak
- 1. Start with the result, not the personaIn the mission field, describe what the agent should accomplish. “Help customers” is too vague. Use: “Recommend a service, ask about urgency, collect a name and preferred contact method, then hand the conversation to a human.” The result should be easy to verify.
- 2. Give the agent a name and working toneA name helps your team distinguish one assistant from another. For tone, describe the conversation: calm and direct, friendly, concise, and free of corporate jargon. Add a rule such as “if you are unsure, ask a clarifying question” so the agent does not present guesses as facts.
- 3. Write the rules as an order of actionsA good instruction reads like a short operating procedure. State what to ask first, when to make a recommendation, which details are required, and when to stop and involve a person. Keep the mission, style, and exceptions as separate rules so they are easier to maintain and test.
- 4. Save, test, and connect TelegramAfter saving, test the agent with a simple request, an incomplete request, and a conflicting request. When the logic is ready, connect a Telegram bot with its BotFather token. Cormak sends the token to a secure server and does not store it in the browser. The agent can then reply in Telegram.
Useful jobs for agents
- Lead qualification: ask the same core questions, understand urgency, and hand a manager a conversation with context already collected.
- First-line support: explain policies, timelines, service scope, and the next step without promising anything outside the instructions.
- Booking intake: collect a preferred date, task type, and contact details, then send a clear summary for human confirmation.
- Daily digest: define a schedule, topic, format, and timezone so the agent can prepare messages for subscribers on a recurring schedule.
- Current research: enable web search when the agent needs fresh information and links. It cannot be used to bypass private sites or bot protection.
Rules that make an agent reliable
The most common mistake is writing a long personality description while leaving the boundaries unclear. A useful assistant needs to know what to do in uncertain situations. Explicitly forbid invented prices, availability, timelines, reviews, and names. When information is missing, the agent should say so and ask a question.
Pre-launch checklist
- The agent has one primary mission and a clear success criterion.
- The rules describe questions, action order, and when to involve a person.
- The agent is not allowed to invent facts, prices, timelines, or outcomes.
- Incomplete, unexpected, and conflicting requests have been tested.
- The correct Telegram bot is connected and you know how to pause the agent.
