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07AI & automation

We design, build and test AI agents that use your tools to carry out real tasks — workflow agents that move work through its steps, and conversational agents that act on what people ask. Guardrails set their limits; monitoring shows what they do once they run.

  • 10Services
  • 4Disciplines
  • 1Method
  • 5Languages
Start the auditSee how it works
  • Tool use
  • Workflow agents
  • Conversational agents
  • Guardrails
  • Monitoring
  • Agent design
  • Testing
  • Refinement

[ DEFINITION ]

What an AI agent means here.

An AI agent is software that uses AI to work toward a goal by taking actions — through the tools a business already runs on — rather than only producing text. For us, an agent is a system with a defined job, the tools it may use, guardrails on what it may do, and monitoring of what it does.

  • Agent or chatbot?

    A chatbot answers. An agent acts: it uses tools to carry out the task behind the question. A conversational agent does both — it talks with people and takes the actions the conversation calls for.

  • Agent or automation?

    Automation follows steps defined in advance; it is reliable when the path is always the same. An agent chooses its next step within the limits it is given, which helps when the path varies. Many processes need both — and Automation is its own ELIXIR service.

[ IN SHORT ]

  • Agents act — they use tools to carry out tasks, not only to answer questions.
  • Two kinds of agents — workflow agents that move work through its steps, and conversational agents that act on what people ask.
  • Limits by design — guardrails define what an agent may and may not do.
  • Visible once running — monitoring shows what an agent does after launch.
  • Separate, connected services — AI Development, Automation and custom software stay their own services, linked when a project needs them.

[ WHY AGENTS FALL SHORT ]

An agent is only as useful as the job it is given and the limits it respects.

Where agents fall short

  • No clear job — built around what a model can do rather than a task that needs doing.
  • Talk without action — answers questions but can't use the tools where the work happens.
  • No limits — nothing defines what the agent may or may not do.
  • Untested — put to work without being checked against the tasks it will face.
  • Unwatched — once it runs, nobody can see what it does.
  • The wrong tool — an agent used where fixed rules would be simpler and more predictable.

How we approach it

  • A defined job — each agent starts from the task it must complete and what a finished task looks like.
  • Tool use — agents designed to act through the tools the business already uses.
  • Guardrails — limits on what the agent may do, designed in from the start.
  • Tested — agents are tested before they are put to work.
  • Monitored — what an agent does is monitored after launch and refined during Distill.
  • The right approach — when fixed rules are enough, we recommend Automation instead.

[ SCOPE ]

Agents that use your tools — through workflows or conversations.

AI Agent Development at ELIXIR covers four capabilities: tool use, workflow agents, conversational agents, and guardrails & monitoring. Every agent is designed, tested and monitored.

  • 01

    Tool use

    Agents that act through the tools a business already runs on, rather than beside them.

  • 02

    Workflow agents

    Agents that carry a task through its steps, choosing the next one within set limits.

  • 03

    Conversational agents

    Agents that talk with people and take the actions the conversation calls for.

  • 04

    Guardrails

    Limits on what each agent may and may not do, part of its design from the start.

  • 05

    Monitoring

    Visibility into what an agent does once it runs, so it can be checked and improved.

  • 06

    Agent design

    The job, the tools and the limits of each agent, defined before it is built.

[ WHAT IT CAN BE ]

Kinds of agents we design for — examples, not client work.

  • 01

    Request-handling agents

    Conversational agents that take a request and act on it in the right tool.

  • 02

    Back-office workflow agents

    Workflow agents that move repetitive, multi-step work between systems.

  • 03

    Information agents

    Agents that gather information from a business's own tools to answer a question.

  • 04

    Triage agents

    Agents that sort incoming work and route it to the right queue or tool.

  • 05

    Preparation agents

    Agents that assemble what a person needs before they act — drafts, summaries, records.

  • 06

    Agents inside products

    Agents that act within an application or a SaaS product, built alongside it.

[ FOUR CAPABILITIES ]

Four capabilities behind every agent.

Tool use lets an agent act. Workflow and conversational agents give that action its shape. Guardrails and monitoring keep it within limits and in view.

01Tool use

Agents that act where the work happens.

  • The tools the agent may use, defined
  • Actions carried out in existing tools
  • Designed around the task, not the model

[ IN EVERY AGENT ]

What every agent build includes.

  • Agent design

    The agent's job, its tools and its limits, defined before anything is built.

  • Tool access

    The tools the agent may use, set out as part of its design.

  • Guardrails

    Limits on what the agent may do, built in from the start.

  • Testing

    The agent tested before it is put to work.

  • Monitoring

    What the agent does, made visible once it runs.

  • Refinement

    Adjustments based on what monitoring shows, as part of the ELIXIR Method.

[ RANGE ]

What an agent looks like from the outside.

A conversation, a tool action, a workflow run and a monitoring view each show a different side of an agent. These layouts illustrate the kinds of views an agent can involve — they are archetypes, not client work.

  • 01Conversation

  • 02Tool action

  • 03Workflow run

  • 04Monitoring view

Case studies are published here only with our clients' permission.

[ STACK ]

Models and frameworks, chosen per agent.

We choose the model and framework for the task an agent has to do and the tools it works with. These are the ones we build agents with most often.

  • OpenAI
  • Anthropic
  • Gemini
  • LangChain
  • Vercel AI SDK
  • Python
  • TypeScript

[ WHY ELIXIR ]

Agents built by a studio that also builds what they connect to.

AI Agent Development is one of ten ELIXIR services. Next to it sit AI Development, Automation and Custom Software Development — separate services, each with its own scope — so an agent can be combined with them when a project calls for it, without blurring what each one does.

  • Designed, tested, monitored

    Every agent is designed before it is built, tested before it runs and monitored after.

  • Clear boundaries

    Agents, AI features, automation and software are each scoped as their own service.

  • One method

    The ELIXIR Method guides every agent, from the first task to refinement.

  • Multilingual by design

    Our own site runs in five languages, right-to-left included.

[ THE METHOD ]

The ELIXIR Method, applied to AI agents.

Every agent moves through the same five phases — the method behind all of our work.

Explore the ELIXIR Method
  1. 01

    DISCERN

    We look at the task the agent should take on — its steps, the tools involved and where the work gets stuck.

  2. 02

    DEFINE

    We define the agent's job, the tools it may use, its limits and what a finished task looks like.

  3. 03

    DESIGN

    We design how the agent works: its steps or conversation, its tool actions and its guardrails.

  4. 04

    DEVELOP

    We build the agent and test it against the tasks it will face before it is put to work.

  5. 05

    DISTILL

    We monitor what the agent does, refine what doesn't serve and keep it within its limits.

[ WHERE WE WORK ]

US roots. Working internationally.

ELIXIR Creative is a digital innovation and technology studio operating internationally. Our work began with clients in the USA and Canada; today we are expanding into Morocco, the UAE, Germany and other international markets — and this site is itself built in five languages, right-to-left included.

  • casablancamorexpansion
  • new yorkusapresence
  • torontocanpresence

Languages

[ ENGAGEMENT ]

Scoped to the agent, not to a package.

Every project starts with the audit: we look at the work you want an agent to take on and come back with a scoped plan. Most agent work takes one of three shapes.

  • 01

    A first agent

    One agent, designed, tested and monitored around a single task.

  • 02

    Agents in existing software

    An agent added to an application, with the software work handled as Custom Software Development.

  • 03

    Ongoing refinement

    Continued monitoring and refinement after launch, as tasks and tools change.

AI agent development at ELIXIR

ELIXIR Creative is a digital innovation and technology studio. Our AI agent development covers four capabilities — tool use, workflow agents, conversational agents, and guardrails & monitoring — for production-grade agents that take action across a business's tools. Every agent is designed, tested and monitored.

An agent starts from a task, not from a model: what needs doing, which tools are involved and where the limits sit. That keeps the agent useful, and keeps its actions within bounds.

Where agents meet ELIXIR's other services

Agents often work alongside other kinds of work, each handled as its own service. When a product needs language models, retrieval or data pipelines built in, that is AI Development; when a process follows fixed rules across existing systems, Automation is often the simpler fit.

When an agent needs an application around it, the software is built as Custom Software Development — or as SaaS Development for a subscription product; when agents are one part of rethinking how the business runs, the wider plan belongs to Digital Transformation.

[ FAQ ]

What people ask before building an AI agent.

01

What is an AI agent?

Software that uses AI to work toward a goal by taking actions through tools, rather than only producing text. At ELIXIR, AI Agent Development covers tool use, workflow agents, conversational agents, and guardrails & monitoring.

02

How is an AI agent different from a chatbot?

A chatbot answers questions. An agent carries out the task behind them, using the tools where the work happens. A conversational agent combines both: it talks with people and takes the actions the conversation calls for.

03

How is an agent different from automation?

Automation follows steps defined in advance and suits processes that always run the same way. An agent chooses its next step within set limits, which suits work that varies. Automation is its own ELIXIR service, and many processes use both.

04

How is AI Agent Development different from AI Development?

AI Development integrates AI into products and workflows — language models, retrieval, data pipelines and evaluation. AI Agent Development builds agents that act across your tools. They are separate services that can be combined in one project.

05

How do agents use tools?

An agent is given specific tools it may use and carries out actions through them as part of its task. Which tools, and what it may do with them, is decided when the agent is designed.

06

What is a workflow agent?

An agent that carries a multi-step task through to the end, choosing its next step within the limits it has been given. It suits work with several steps that doesn't always follow the same path.

07

What is a conversational agent?

An agent that talks with people and acts on what the conversation needs, rather than only replying.

08

Why do guardrails and monitoring matter?

An agent takes actions, so its limits have to be clear before it runs and its activity visible afterwards. Guardrails set what it may and may not do; monitoring shows what it actually does, so it can be checked and refined.

09

How much does an AI agent cost, and how long does it take?

It depends on scope: the task, the tools involved and the limits the agent needs. We don't sell fixed packages — the audit comes first, and it leads to a scoped plan with cost and timeline.

[ RELATED SERVICES ]

Often paired with AI agents.

[ START A CONVERSATION ]

Have a task you'd hand to an agent?

Tell us the work you'd like an agent to take on and the tools it runs through. We'll map where to start.

Start the audithello@elixircreative.pro