Intelligent Agents: How to Create an Intelligent Agent

The steps to setting up and using agents are not overly difficult, but there are many options. The following instructions on this page give you the initial steps, but please refer to the following Brightspace link for additional step-by-step instructions on how to use agents (new window). There you will find instructions on how to edit, copy, delete, restore, view, and use an agent in more detail.

How to Create an Agent

1. On a course navbar, click Course Tools drop down menu and select Edit Course.
2. Under the Communication grouping, click Intelligent Agents.
3. On the Agent List page, click New.
4. Type in a name for your agent, such as "Weekly Login Reminder."
5. Expand the Edit Description label and enter a description. Example: "Agent to automatically send an email to students who don't login weekly."
6. Make sure to select the Agent is enabled check box for it to become activated.
7. Under Criteria > Role in Classlist, do one of the following:
   • If you want the intelligent agent to be applicable to all roles in the Classlist, select the All users visible in the Classlist check box.
   • If you want the intelligent agent to be applicable to select roles (such as ONLY students), select the Users with specific roles check box and select the respective roles.
8. Decide which type of activity you want to target with the agent.
   • If you want your agent to target users' login habits, under Criteria > Login Activity, enter your criteria. This is the correct choice for the example previously provided. Select "Take Action when the following login criteria are satisfied: User has not logged in for at least X day(s)"
   • If you want your agent to target users' course habits, under Criteria > Course Activity, enter your criteria.
   • If you want your agent to run when a specific existing condition has been met, under Criteria > Release Conditions, click Attach Existing. Select the check box for any condition you want to attach and click Attach.
   • If you want your agent to run when a specific new condition has been met, under Criteria > Release Conditions, click Create and Attach. Select a Condition Type from the drop-down list. Complete any additional Condition Details that appear and click Create.
9. Under Actions > Repetition, select how often you want the agent to take action. Your options will be to take action only the first time the criteria are met OR every time the criteria are met.
10. If you want the agent to send an email when the set criteria are satisfied, under Actions > Send an Email, select the Send an email when the criteria are satisfied check box and enter your email details.
11. If you want to schedule how frequently Brightspace Learning Environment evaluates the agent criteria, under Scheduling, select the Use Schedule check box. Click Update Schedule and set your scheduling details.
12. Click Save and Close.

• Note: Scheduled intelligent agents stop running and are automatically disabled if the course is inactive, over (end date passed), or deleted. You can still set up a practice run or a manual run of an intelligent agent at any time in a course with a passed end date.

Watch How to Create an Agent