How do you give an AI agent tools?

How to give an agent tools

Agents don't come knowing your Gmail or Slack. Until you connect them, they're stuck talking. Tools are what an agent can actually touch: send an email, post to Slack, update a HubSpot deal, file a Notion page.

The three steps

1. Pick the apps from a list. Every agent platform ships with a catalog of supported apps. Lindy advertises 4,000+ integrations. Gumloop ships with Gmail, Salesforce, Notion, Zendesk, and Google Calendar built in. Offsite works the same way: open the agent, choose which apps it should use.
2. Log in once per app. A login window pops up, you sign into Gmail or HubSpot, and you grant access. The platform handles the handshake (OAuth), so the agent uses your account without ever seeing your password.
3. Tell the agent what each tool is for, in plain English. "Use Gmail to send replies." "Use HubSpot to update the deal stage." "Use Notion to file the summary." The agent reads those instructions and picks the right tool when the moment comes.

What to watch for

Agents only do what they have tools for. If yours isn't updating Salesforce, check whether Salesforce is actually connected, not whether the prompt is good. Each connection inherits your permissions: if your Gmail account can't see a shared inbox, neither can the agent. You can revoke access from the app's settings anytime.

The new universal plug: MCP

There's a newer option called MCP (Model Context Protocol). It's a standard, like USB-C for agents, that lets one connection work across Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, and platforms like Offsite. If a tool ships an MCP server, your agent can use it without a custom integration.