# Quickstart: Build your first agent

> Describe the job or paste your website. Ally builds the agent, you test it, and it goes live on a channel.

Source: https://docs.getlinkai.com/getting-started/build-your-first-agent

Get an agent answering real customers in about 10 minutes. You describe the job, Ally builds the agent, and you test it before anyone else sees it.

## Overview

1. **Create with Ally.** Describe the use case, paste a website, or pick a template.
2. **Test and refine.** Talk to the agent in the live chat panel and adjust what Ally set up.
3. **Deploy.** Turn on a channel and set the agent to **Live**.

## Before you start

- A Link AI account. The 14-day trial needs no credit card.
- Optional: your website URL. Ally crawls it into a knowledge source so the agent knows your business from the first message.

## Build the agent

### Open the builder

In the [dashboard](https://dashboard.getlinkai.com/dashboard), open **My Agents** and click **New Agent**. The **Build an agent** dialog opens with Ally.

![Build an agent dialog](https://docs.getlinkai.com/screenshots/v2/build-agent-dialog.png)

### Tell Ally what to build

Ally asks: "What's the use case you're building for?" Do one of the following:

- **Describe the job** in a sentence. Example: "Answer inbound calls, book appointments, and transfer to a person when needed."
- **Paste your website.** Ally crawls the site into a knowledge source and writes the agent around that business.
- **Pick a template:** **Phone Agent**, **Instagram Agent**, **Booking Agent**, **Customer Service Agent**, or **General Agent**.

Want a blank agent instead? Skip the builder. You get a name-only create dialog and configure everything yourself.

### Let Ally finish

Ally shows progress as it analyzes, configures, and creates. A typical build:

- Names the agent from your use case
- Writes the instructions, welcome message, and language
- Turns on the actions that fit: calendar, tickets, orders, forms, email, web search
- Enables suggested channels such as website, WhatsApp, or voice
- If you shared a URL, crawls it into a knowledge source and assigns it

When it's done, Ally links you to the new agent.

### Review the tabs

Ally's setup is a starting point. Open the agent and check each tab.

| Tab | What to review |
|-----|----------------|
| **Agent** | Identity, **Instructions**, welcome message, error message, language, and **Persona** |
| **Brain** | Model, temperature, and the knowledge source Ally assigned |
| **Call** | Voice, greetings, and phone settings for a phone agent |
| **Actions** | Forms, tickets, calendar, orders, email, and web search |
| **Procedures** | Step-by-step playbooks the agent follows when a condition is met |
| **Deploy** | Website widget, public Page, SMS, WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, Slack, Outlook, Gmail, and more |

If Ally crawled a site and the knowledge source still says **Needs Training**, train it. See [Knowledge Base](https://docs.getlinkai.com/agents/knowledge-base).

![Agent tab](https://docs.getlinkai.com/screenshots/v2/agent-tab.png)

### Test in the live chat

Use the live chat panel on the right of the agent page.

1. Ask the questions your customers ask.
2. Try each action Ally turned on, such as a booking, a ticket, or an order.
3. For a phone agent, place a test call.
4. Where an answer is thin, tighten the **Instructions** or add knowledge.

Test chats count toward usage.

### Deploy to a channel

Open the **Deploy** tab and turn on only the channels you want live.

- **Website widget:** add your domain to the allowed list, then copy the embed code. See [Embed](https://docs.getlinkai.com/getting-started/embed).
- **WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger:** connect [Meta](https://docs.getlinkai.com/integrations/meta) or [WhatsApp](https://docs.getlinkai.com/integrations/whatsapp) first.
- **Outlook:** connect [Outlook](https://docs.getlinkai.com/integrations/outlook), then enable it on **Deploy**.
- **Phone, SMS, and WhatsApp:** buy or assign a number on the **Call** tab first. See [Phone](https://docs.getlinkai.com/products/phone).

Keep the agent on **Draft** while you test. Set it to **Live** when it's ready for customers.

![Deploy tab](https://docs.getlinkai.com/screenshots/v2/agent-deploy.png)

### Verify it's live

Send a message through the channel you turned on, the way a customer would: open your site and use the widget, DM your Instagram account, or call the number.

**Check:**
You should see the agent reply, and the conversation appear in **Inbox**.

**Note: First sign-in**
The first time you sign in, Ally may ask for your name and website and offer to finish account setup, such as a welcome email, a follow-up, and a draft campaign. It's optional. Say **I'll do this myself** and build agents the same way later.

## Make it better

- **Add a procedure.** Turn an SOP into steps the agent follows, such as qualifying a lead and creating a board item. See [Procedures](https://docs.getlinkai.com/agents/procedures).
- **Add knowledge.** Upload files, crawl more pages, or sync Notion and Google Sheets. Retrain the source after changes. See [Knowledge Base](https://docs.getlinkai.com/agents/knowledge-base).
- **Sharpen the instructions.** Add tone, escalation rules, and **Always do / Never do** rules. See [Prompting Tips](https://docs.getlinkai.com/getting-started/prompting-tips).

## Next steps

**[Key Concepts](https://docs.getlinkai.com/getting-started/key-concepts)**:
How agents, Work, Ally, procedures, and workflows fit together.

**[Actions](https://docs.getlinkai.com/agents/actions)**:
Give your agent more tools: bookings, orders, forms, and tickets.

**[Channels](https://docs.getlinkai.com/agents/channels)**:
Run the same agent on phone, web, WhatsApp, Instagram, and more.

**[Procedures](https://docs.getlinkai.com/agents/procedures)**:
Turn your SOPs into steps an agent follows.