Connect your agent to an external system

Connect a system lets your agent call an external API during a conversation. It can retrieve current information or perform an operation your system supports, using the details the customer has shared. You define when the action should run, what information it needs, and which endpoint it calls. Your server processes the request and returns a result that the agent can explain to the customer.

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When to use it

Use this action when the answer or operation depends on another system: checking stock, retrieving account information, looking up a request, or submitting an authorized change. An API can connect your agent to your own software or a third-party service. Use Knowledge for reference information and policies. Use Collect data when you want to save structured conversation details in Visito. Use Google Sheets for access to spreadsheet rows.

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Before you start

You need administrator access, an API endpoint reachable from Visito’s servers, and any credentials the endpoint requires. Creating an action does not create a server or provide direct access to a database.

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1. Describe the action

Open Configuration → Actions → Connect a system. The setup window is titled New HTTP action. Give the action a clear name. In When and how the AI should use it, explain:

• The customer intent that should trigger it.
• Which information to use from the conversation and what to ask for if missing.
• Whether customer confirmation is needed before running it.
• How to interpret a successful result, a missing record, or a failed request.

Select the businesses where the action belongs. Choose All businesses only if the same endpoint and instructions apply across the workspace.

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2. Configure the connection

When editing, leave the secret blank to keep its saved value. Keep credentials in the authentication settings, not in the action’s instructions or input schema. Read only describes the intended operation. Your server must enforce its behavior and access rules; this setting does not prevent a poorly implemented endpoint from making changes.

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3. Define the inputs

Parameters JSON schema defines the structured information the agent must provide. Add a property for each input, with a type and a description. Mark only the inputs needed to execute the request as required. The agent can use information already shared in the conversation and ask for missing values. Describe formats, units, and accepted choices clearly. Do not put fixed results or credentials into this schema. Your endpoint must also validate incoming values. The schema defines the action inputs, not an arbitrary HTTP body template:

• GET: inputs become query parameters.
• POST: inputs are placed inside arguments, alongside conversation meta.

The endpoint reads those inputs, performs its authorized lookup or operation, and returns the result. Visito makes the result available to the agent to continue the conversation. Return concise, customer-safe facts rather than instructions for the agent to follow. If your API needs a different body shape or a value inserted into a URL path, translate it in an adapter. See what Visito sends to your endpoint.

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4. Test before activating

Start in Playground only with a test endpoint and synthetic data. Playground sends real HTTP requests; use a destination where any permitted changes are safe to test. Test a complete request, missing inputs, invalid values, no matching record, and a server failure. Check that the agent uses the returned facts and explains failures without inventing an answer. For operations that change data, also verify the actual change in the destination system. After testing, save the action in Active mode to make it available in the selected businesses’ eligible conversations. Your endpoint must enforce which records and operations each request may access.

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5. Review the execution

Open Actions → History and select the action. Inspect its parameters, saved request information, response, status, and timing. Saved request data may show the arguments without the complete transmitted POST wrapper; authentication data is hidden or redacted. Use Open conversation to connect the execution to the customer’s request and the agent’s answer. A completed HTTP request does not necessarily mean the business operation succeeded: check the response’s outcome. If the action is not called, review its mode, business scope, purpose, missing inputs, and whether the conversation has been handed to a person. For request failures, check authentication, endpoint reachability, input validation, and timeout settings. Set the action to Off to prevent future calls; this does not undo a request already in progress.

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Example: look up an order

Developers can also manage actions through the Actions API.