# AI Agents

CARTO AI Agents provide a powerful conversational interface that allows anyone, regardless of technical expertise, to ask questions in natural language and receive instant, actionable insights. This marks a fundamental shift beyond dashboards to a dynamic, intuitive way of exploring your geospatial data.

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With CARTO, you can create and publish powerful geospatial AI Agents tailored to your specific needs. By combining your custom prompt instructions with CARTO's built-in tools and your own MCP tools, you can build trustworthy solutions that make complex geospatial analysis accessible to any user within your organization.

## What is an AI Agent?

An AI Agent is a sophisticated system powered by a large language model (LLM) that goes beyond simple chat. It autonomously interacts with your data and a robust set of tools to solve complex geospatial tasks, reasoning through problems to deliver actionable, data-driven insights.

Each agent you create is built from three core components:

* **Logic (Use Case & Instructions)**: The agent's "brain" — defining its purpose, behavior, and expertise through clear, structured instructions.
* **Tools & Capabilities**: The agent's "hands" — accessing a powerful suite of built-in geospatial tools and extending skills with your custom MCP tools.
* **Model (LLM)**: The agent's "engine" — powering reasoning, language understanding, and decision-making capabilities.

<figure><img src="https://3029946802-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FybPdpmLltPkzGFvz7m8A%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-aa7244f3d277e41fde785034804566c92732e01b%2FScreenshot%202025-10-04%20at%2010.14.45.png?alt=media" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

## Getting started with AI Agents

This documentation walks you through the complete journey of building and deploying AI Agents:

#### Learn the basics

* [**Creating your Agent**](https://docs.carto.com/carto-user-manual/ai-agents/creating-your-agent) - Set up your agent and understand the interface
* [**Agent Config Assistant**](https://docs.carto.com/carto-user-manual/ai-agents/agent-config-assistant) - Configure your Agent through conversation: create, iterate, and refine
* [**Understanding Agent behavior**](https://docs.carto.com/carto-user-manual/ai-agents/understanding-agent-behavior) - Learn how agents interpret queries and make decisions
* [**Choosing the right model**](https://docs.carto.com/carto-user-manual/ai-agents/choosing-the-right-model) - Select the optimal LLM for your use case

#### Build and configure

* [**Defining your Agent logic**](https://docs.carto.com/carto-user-manual/ai-agents/defining-your-agent-logic) - Write effective Use Cases and Instructions
* [**Working with tools**](https://docs.carto.com/carto-user-manual/ai-agents/working-with-tools) - Integrate Core Tools and custom MCP Tools
* [**Configuring capabilities**](https://docs.carto.com/carto-user-manual/ai-agents/configuring-capabilities) - Enable advanced features like Query Sources

#### Deploy and share

* [**Iterate and refine**](https://docs.carto.com/carto-user-manual/ai-agents/iterate-and-refine-your-agent) - Test and improve your agent based on feedback
* [**Sharing your Agent**](https://docs.carto.com/carto-user-manual/ai-agents/sharing-your-agent) - Publish and distribute to your organization

#### Reference

* [**Tools Reference**](https://docs.carto.com/carto-user-manual/ai-agents/ai-tools-reference) - Comprehensive documentation of all available Core Tools