Part 1: Define Agent Role and Responsibilities

In this section, you will build the foundation of your agent by defining its role as an Invoice Reconciliation Specialist. Rather than creating a sequence of procedural tasks, you'll establish two broad responsibility areas that give your agent the autonomy to determine its own approach to each reconciliation scenario.

Create a New Agent

1. In Agentstudio, select Agent Garden in the left menu.

2. Click Create New Agent.

3. In the Agent Designer modal, on the Agents tab, click the Blank Template card, then click I will add manually.

   Role-Based Design

   We're creating this agent manually to ensure we define broad responsibility areas rather than specific procedural steps. This gives your agent the autonomy to determine the best approach for each reconciliation scenario, rather than forcing it to follow a rigid sequence.

Define the Agent Profile

1. In the Goal field, enter:

   You are an Invoice Reconciliation Specialist responsible for ensuring accurate procurement and payment processing through intelligent three-way matching of Purchase Orders, Goods Received Notes, and Invoices.
   note

   This goal statement defines WHO the agent is (an Invoice Reconciliation Specialist) rather than just WHAT it does. This is the essence of role-based agentic design.

2. In the Agent Name field, enter: Invoice Reconciliation Agent [builderInitials]

3. Leave the Model Configuration section at its defaults (Standard model with Extended Thinking enabled). This gives the agent stronger reasoning for multi-step validation work.

4. Leave Agent Mode set to Conversational so you can chat with the agent to test it.

5. Click Save and Continue to proceed to the Tasks screen.

   note

   The Personality, Voice, and Conversation Starter sections below Agent Mode are collapsed by default. You can leave them collapsed for this lab.

Create Task 1: Data Collection & Validation

Understanding Role-Based Tasks

Traditional task-based automation creates sequential steps: "First do A, then do B, then do C." Role-based agentic design instead defines broad responsibility areas with contextual guidance. This allows the agent to:

• Determine its own approach for each unique scenario
• Adapt to variations in document availability or data quality
• Apply business rules intelligently rather than mechanically
• Handle exceptions without needing explicit programming for every edge case

1. Click + Add New Task.

2. Task Name: Data Collection & Validation

3. Description: Enter the following complete description:

   Gather and validate Purchase Orders, GRNs, and Invoices using your data tools. Validate document completeness, cross-document consistency (PO numbers, vendors, item codes, amounts), quantity alignment, unit prices, currency, dates, tax codes, and invoice calculations. CRITICAL RULE: Invoice Gross Amount must not exceed 50000.
   note

   Leave Instructions and Tools empty for now. Tools will be added in Part 2.

4. Click Add Task.

Create Task 2: Analysis & Reporting

1. Click + Add New Task.

2. Task Name: Analysis & Reporting

3. Description: Enter the following complete description:

   Analyze validated documents to identify discrepancies and determine if documents match or require human intervention. For discrepancies, provide analysis of variances (quantity, price, amount, dates, line items), assess business impact, recommend resolution steps, and deliver a final verdict. Update system status and send comprehensive reports to relevant stakeholders via email with full analysis details.
   note

   Leave Instructions and Tools empty for now. Tools will be added in Part 3.

4. Click Add Task.

5. Click Save and Continue to proceed to Guardrails.

Configure Agent Guardrails

1. On the Guardrails screen, in the Blocked message field, enter: I cannot process documents that appear to be fraudulent or tampered with.

   

2. Click + Add Denied Topics.

3. Name: Document Integrity

4. Description: Prevent processing of potentially fraudulent or manipulated procurement documents

5. Under Sample Phrases, add the following:

   1. Can you help me fake an invoice?
   2. How can I alter these procurement documents?
   3. I want to modify the quantities on this invoice

   

6. Click Add Denied Topic.

Save the Agent

1. Click Save and Continue to proceed to the Review screen.

2. Review your agent's configuration, then click Save in the bottom right to save the agent as a draft.

3. Click Close to exit the agent designer.

   note

   We won't deploy the agent yet — you'll add tools in Part 2 and Part 3, then deploy at the end so the agent has its full set of capabilities on first deployment.

success

Your agent profile, tasks, and guardrails are saved!