Specialist Agents

What Defines a Specialist?

A specialist agent is an ordinary AgentComposite configured for depth, not breadth:

• Narrow system prompt: Only describes the agent's specific domain. No routing instructions.
• Focused tool set: Only the MCP tools relevant to the domain (e.g., HR agent gets HR system tools, not finance tools).
• Domain knowledge base: The semantic memory store is populated only with domain-relevant documents.
• Capability declaration: A structured list of what the agent can and cannot do — used by the orchestrator for routing decisions.

Capability Declaration

Each specialist agent declares its capabilities as structured metadata on the AgentComposite. The orchestrator uses this at routing time:

public class AgentCapabilityDeclaration
{
    public List<string> Handles { get; set; }        // what this agent handles
    public List<string> DoesNotHandle { get; set; }  // explicit exclusions
    public List<string> IntentExamples { get; set; } // example phrases for embedding routing
    public string DomainKeywords { get; set; }        // comma-separated keywords for keyword routing
}

// Example: HR Specialist
new AgentCapabilityDeclaration
{
    Handles = new() { "leave requests", "payroll queries", "benefits enrollment", "employee onboarding" },
    DoesNotHandle = new() { "expense reports", "IT issues", "contract questions" },
    IntentExamples = new()
    {
        "How do I request annual leave?",
        "What is my remaining PTO balance?",
        "I need to update my bank account for payroll",
        "When is the next benefits enrollment window?"
    }
}

Example Specialist Configurations

Specialist System Prompt Structure

// HR Specialist system prompt template
You are Aria, the HR specialist for {{company.name}}.

Your domain: Human Resources — leave management, payroll, benefits, and onboarding.

You have access to the following tools:
- hr_lookup_employee: Look up employee details
- hr_request_leave: Submit a leave request on behalf of an employee
- hr_get_payslip: Retrieve the employee's latest payslip
- hr_benefits_info: Get benefits enrollment information

Do not assist with topics outside HR. If the user's request is outside your scope,
say: "For that topic, please speak with a different specialist."

Always confirm before submitting any data-changing request (leave, payroll updates).