What's in the (Tool) Box?

Introduction to AI Agents

Adel Nehme

VP of AI Curriculum, DataCamp

What's in the (Tool) Box?

toolbox

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Introduction to AI Agents

Tool Use: An Essential Component

components

1 Wiesinger, J., Marlow, P., & Vuskovic, V. (n.d.). Agents.
Introduction to AI Agents

Tool Use: An Essential Component

tools

1 Wiesinger, J., Marlow, P., & Vuskovic, V. (n.d.). Agents.
Introduction to AI Agents

The Different Type of Tools

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Introduction to AI Agents

The Different Type of Tools

Extensions

Tools that connect agents to the outside world

1 Wiesinger, J., Marlow, P., & Vuskovic, V. (n.d.). Agents.
Introduction to AI Agents

Extensions

Application Programming Interface

Set of rules that lets different software systems talk to each other and share data or functionality in a structured way

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Introduction to AI Agents

Extensions

Application Programming Interface

Set of rules that lets different software systems talk to each other and share data or functionality in a structured way

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Model Context Protocol

An open standard that lets AI assistants connect to external data sources and tools through a unified interface

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Introduction to AI Agents

Application Programming Interface (API)

Introduction to AI Agents

Application Programming Interface (API)

Introduction to AI Agents

Extending Agent Capabilities with APIs

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Introduction to AI Agents

Extending Agent Capabilities with APIs

Prompt

What's the stock price of Nvidia today?

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Introduction to AI Agents

Extending Agent Capabilities with APIs

Prompt

What's the stock price of Nvidia today?

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Tool use

Yahoo Finance API

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Response

Nvidia's stock price today is $141,97

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Introduction to AI Agents

The Different Type of Tools

Extensions

Tools that connect agents to the outside world

Functions

Tools that lets agents execute a specific set of code

1 Wiesinger, J., Marlow, P., & Vuskovic, V. (n.d.). Agents.
Introduction to AI Agents

Functions: Custom Abilities

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Introduction to AI Agents

Improving Capabilities with Functions

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Introduction to AI Agents

Improving Capabilities with Functions

Prompt

Analyze Nvidia's stock performance over the last 30 days

Tool use

  • Yahoo Finance API
  • Calculates moving averages function

Response

Nvidia's stock price today is $141,97. Over the past 30 days, the moving average increased by 10% over the historical average.

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Introduction to AI Agents

The Different Type of Tools

Extensions

Tools that connect agents to the outside world

Functions

Tools that lets agents execute a specific set of code

Data stores

Tools that lets agents retrieve information from databases and documents

1 Wiesinger, J., Marlow, P., & Vuskovic, V. (n.d.). Agents.
Introduction to AI Agents

Data Stores: Retrieving Information

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Introduction to AI Agents

Data Stores: Retrieving Information

Structured data

  • Tabular data
  • Databases, Excel Files, Directories, etc...

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Introduction to AI Agents

Data Stores: Retrieving Information

Structured data

  • Tabular data
  • Databases, Excel Files, Directories, etc...

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Unstructured data

  • Text, image, video, audio data
  • PDFs, Emails, Company Reports, etc...
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Introduction to AI Agents

Improving Capabilities with Data Stores

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Introduction to AI Agents

Improving Capabilities with Data Stores

Prompt

Analyze Nvidia's stock performance over the last 30 days

Tool use

  • Yahoo Finance API
  • Calculates moving averages function
  • Analyst report on the semi-conductor industry
1 Image generated with GPT-4o
Introduction to AI Agents

Improving Capabilities with Data Stores

Response

Nvidia's stock price today is $141,97. Over the past 30 days, the moving average increased by 10% over the historical average. According to analysts, the semi-conductor industry is seeing above average growth with exploding demand for GPUs coming from AI labs and increased VC investment in the AI industry.

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Introduction to AI Agents

The Tool Box

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AI agent tools landscape

Introduction to AI Agents

Let's Practice!

Introduction to AI Agents

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