---
title: "AI Assistant agents | Nutrient"
canonical_url: "https://www.nutrient.io/guides/ai-assistant/features/agents/"
md_url: "https://www.nutrient.io/guides/ai-assistant/features/agents.md"
last_updated: "2026-06-08T13:19:19.265Z"
description: "Learn about the AI Assistant agents available out of the box and how to customize your own agent for document workflows."
---

# Agents

AI Assistant provides agents that determine the capabilities and behavior of your AI-powered document workflows. You can use one of the built-in agents out of the box, or customize your own agent for specific use cases.

## Selecting an agent

Select an agent using the `agentId` field in your AI Assistant configuration:

```js

PSPDFKit.load({
  aiAssistant: {
    sessionId: 'session123',
    jwt: 'your-jwt-token',
    backendUrl: 'http://localhost:4000',
    agentId: 'agentic', // Choose: 'chat', 'agentic', or 'base'.
  },...
});

```

## Built-in agents

AI Assistant includes three agents out of the box, each optimized for different use cases.

### Agentic (default)

The `agentic` agent provides full autonomous capabilities with read and write access to documents. This is the default agent when no `agentId` is specified.

**Capabilities:**

- Read and search document content

- Summarize and answer questions about documents

- Add, modify, and delete annotations

- Fill form fields

- Apply redactions

- Execute multistep document workflows

**Use cases:**

- Document editing and review workflows

- Automated form filling

- Compliance and redaction tasks

- Interactive document preparation

```js

PSPDFKit.load({
  aiAssistant: {
    sessionId: 'session123',
    jwt: 'your-jwt-token',
    backendUrl: 'http://localhost:4000',
    agentId: 'agentic',
  },
});

```

### Chat

The `chat` agent provides a read-only Q&A mode optimized for document analysis without modification capabilities.

**Capabilities:**

- Read and search document content

- Summarize documents

- Extract data and answer questions

- Provide document insights and analysis

**Limitations:**

- Cannot add or modify annotations

- Cannot fill forms

- Cannot apply redactions

**Use cases:**

- Customer-facing document viewers where editing is restricted

- Research and analysis workflows

- Document comprehension assistants

- Secure environments where document integrity is critical

```js

PSPDFKit.load({
  aiAssistant: {
    sessionId: 'session123',
    jwt: 'your-jwt-token',
    backendUrl: 'http://localhost:4000',
    agentId: 'chat',
  },
});

```

### Base

The `base` agent provides a minimal configuration intended for full customization. Use this agent when you want complete control over behavior through the [agent configuration](https://www.nutrient.io/guides/ai-assistant/features/agent-configuration.md).

**Capabilities:**

- All tools enabled by default, customizable through `toolApproval` settings

- Full customization through `agentConfiguration`

- Suitable for building specialized agents

**Use cases:**

- Building an agent with only a subset of available tools

- Creating a focused agent for a single task, such as document summarization

- Overriding default behaviors that preset agents don’t allow

```js

PSPDFKit.load({
  aiAssistant: {
    sessionId: 'session123',
    jwt: 'your-jwt-token',
    backendUrl: 'http://localhost:4000',
    agentId: 'base',
    agentConfiguration: {
      systemPromptTemplate: 'You are a specialized legal document analyst...',
      skills: [
        {
          name: 'contract-review',
          description: 'Analyze contracts for key terms',
          content: 'Focus on liability and payment terms...',
        },
      ],
      toolApproval: {
        defaults: { default: 'allow', write: 'deny' },
      },
    },
  },
});

```

## Customizing agents

The built-in agents provide a starting point, but you can further customize behavior using the [agent configuration](https://www.nutrient.io/guides/ai-assistant/features/agent-configuration.md). Configuration options layer on top of the selected agent:

```js

PSPDFKit.load({
  aiAssistant: {
    sessionId: 'session123',
    jwt: 'your-jwt-token',
    backendUrl: 'http://localhost:4000',
    agentId: 'agentic', // Start with full capabilities and skills.
    agentConfiguration: {
      // Require approval for write operations.
      toolApproval: {
        defaults: {
          default: 'allow',
          read: 'allow',
          write: 'ask',
        },
      },
      // Add domain-specific guidance.
      systemPromptTemplate: 'You are a legal document assistant...',
    },
  },
});

```

## What’s next

- [Agent configuration](https://www.nutrient.io/guides/ai-assistant/features/agent-configuration.md) — Customize system prompts, skills, and tool approval policies.

- [Nutrient Web SDK integration](https://www.nutrient.io/guides/ai-assistant/viewer-integration/nutrient-web-sdk.md) — Connect AI Assistant with your document viewer.
---

## Related pages

- [Agent configuration](/guides/ai-assistant/features/agent-configuration.md)
- [AI text comparison](/guides/ai-assistant/features/ai-text-comparison.md)