In Purple, an agent is a customized AI assistant designed to support a specific purpose, task, or audience. Agents can be configured with instructions, knowledge sources, and enabled features to provide more focused support than a general chat experience.
This page compares Personal Agents and System Agents in Purple so you can decide which option best fits your needs.
Agent
An agent in Purple is a customized AI assistant built for a specific purpose. It can use instructions, knowledge sources, and enabled features to answer questions and help with tasks.
Personal Agent
A Personal Agent is an agent that an individual user creates and manages for their own use. It provides an individual workspace for trying things out and is useful for building prototypes, testing configurations, and supporting personal productivity.
System Agent
System Agents are created by Purple system administrators for broader organizational use. They support centralized management, scalability, and advanced knowledge source integration.
The following table provides a comprehensive comparison of Personal Agents and System Agents across key features and aspects. For information on setting up a personal agent, refer to Personal Agents.
| Feature/Aspect | Personal Agents | System Agents |
|---|---|---|
| Creation | Created by individual users. | Created by the system admins. |
| Visibility/Scope | Visible only to the user who created them, unless shared directly with others by link. Intended for individual use. | Available to users based on the agent’s access settings. Edit access is limited to the Admin User Role, and the ability to interact with the agent is managed by the Chat Access Policy. Intended for broader organizational use. |
| Identification | Not marked with a green check mark, indicating they are personal agents. | Marked with a green check mark, indicating they are system agents. |
| Knowledge Sources | Support a limited set of knowledge sources, typically uploaded files and targeted website search. | Support a broader range of knowledge sources, including APIs, MCP servers, file libraries, and targeted website search. They can also support more advanced workflows, including agents calling other agents. |
| Editing and Sharing | Users can edit and pin their own Personal Agents. Personal Agents can also be shared with others by a link. Administrators can disable a user's ability to create Personal Agents. | Individual users cannot edit System Agents. System Agents are managed by Purple system administrators. |
| Guidelines / Branding | Support basic customization, such as a welcome message and user-defined instructions. They do not support the full set of administrative guidelines or branding options available to System Agents. | Leverage organization-managed guidelines and branding, which are configured and maintained by Purple system administrators. |
| Scalability & Collaboration | Intended for individual use and experimentation. If requested, a Personal Agent may be developed into a System Agent for broader use. | Intended for scalable organizational use. Access is managed through the Chat Access Policy, and System Agents can be integrated with workflows and APIs. |
| Pinning and Chat History | Users can pin Personal Agents for quick access, interact with them in the chat interface, and return to saved chat history. | Users can pin System Agents for quick access, interact with them in the chat interface, and return to saved chat history. |
| Permissions & Access Control | Administrators can disable the ability to create personal agents, limit sharing, and review usage activity (not conversations) through audit logs. | Administrators centrally manage access through the Chat Access Policy. |
| Usage Considerations | Better suited for experimental or light use. They rely on fewer knowledge sources, which can limit the context available in a conversation. | Better suited for broad, organizational use, including high-volume or integrated scenarios. They can support agentic workflows and features that keep responses grounded in approved knowledge sources, which can help reduce hallucinations. |
| Limitations for File Uploads | Support file uploads, but are limited to 20 total files. They are not recommended for large or complex document sets. | Support more robust file and knowledge source management. They can use file libraries and integrate multiple knowledge sources using definitions, instructions, and connection settings. |
Personal agents can be converted to System Agents for wider use and enhanced capabilities by submitting an agent request form to the Purple Team. This allows you to prototype and refine an agent before the Purple Team helps scale and configure it for broader use.
Administrators have comprehensive control over both agent types: