5 ways to create an AI agent (from the simplest to the most powerful)

What is an AI agent?

You ask a chatbot a question, and it answers. You give an agent a goal, it figures out the steps on its own and does the work for you. That is the whole difference. There are several ways to create one, from the simplest to the most powerful. We will take them one by one, with a concrete example and a prompt to copy for each.

Number 5: Projects and Skills (the simplest)

You are my content assistant for [my brand]. You write my posts and captions in my voice: short sentences, direct tone, zero jargon. Before writing, review the context files I gave you. Always return a first draft that is ready to review, never a vague outline.

Number 4: Scheduled agents

Every morning at 7 a.m., check my unread emails and today's calendar. Send me a short brief: my 3 priorities, key meetings with one line of context each, and anything that might block me. Get to the point, no fluff.

Number 3: Connectors and MCP

Connect to my calendar and email. When I tell you to prepare my day: read my calendar, suggest a priority order, and draft replies to urgent emails. Do not send them. Show them to me first.

Number 2: Agent workflows (n8n or Zapier)

Trigger: a new lead fills out my form. Step 1, research the company and the person. Step 2, create the record in my CRM. Step 3, write a personalized reply email. Step 4, schedule a follow-up after 3 days if there is no reply. Show me every email before sending.

Number 1: Persistent agents (the most powerful)

You are my monitoring agent. Every day, find the 3 most important updates in my industry from the past 24 hours. Send them to me on WhatsApp: no more than 2 lines and the link for each update. Remember my preferences over time.

Create your first agent in 10 minutes

1. 1

   Open your project

   Open Claude or ChatGPT and create a new project. Call it Content Agent.

2. 2

   Add your context

   Add 2 or 3 context files: your brand voice, your offers and a few of your best posts. This is what makes it sound like you.

3. 3

   Paste the project instructions

   Give it simple, precise rules.

   Prompt to copy

   You are my content assistant for [my brand]. You write in my voice: short sentences, direct tone, zero jargon, never use an em dash. You always rely on my context files. You return a first draft that is ready to review.

4. 4

   Create a skill

   Give it a reusable method for one specific task.

   Prompt to copy

   Create a Hook Writer skill. Its mission: from one idea, suggest 5 hooks under 12 words, one per line, with no emoji. Use it whenever I say give me hooks.

5. 5

   Give it its first task

   Start with a real idea you want to publish.

   Prompt to copy

   Here is my idea: [describe your idea]. Use the Hook Writer skill, then write a post of no more than 150 words in my voice, with a strong hook and one call to action. Leave one line at the end for my personal touch.

   That is it. You just created your first agent. Everything else follows the same logic, taken further.

Stay in control

• Give limited access. A powerful agent with too much access is a risk.
• Check before you approve. Always look at what is being sent, to whom and how much.
• Watch out for trapped content. An email or website can hide instructions that hijack the agent. The agent executes. You stay in charge.

Frequently asked questions