How to Create an AI Agent from a Template on Macha
There are three ways to create an agent on Macha — build it manually, build it with AI, or start from a ready-made template. Templates are the fastest path: someone has already written the instructions and wired up the tools for a common job, so you go from "I need a triage agent" to a working one in a couple of clicks, then tweak it to fit your business.
Watch it in action
Browse the template gallery
From the left menu, open Agent Templates. You'll see a library of pre-built agents covering the jobs support and ops teams do most — across categories like Support, E-Commerce, Billing, Research, Productivity, and Automation. Each card tells you which connectors and tools it uses, and you can browse by category to find what you need.
A few you'll find in there: Ticket Triage, Refund Handler, Order Lookup, Escalation Manager, Subscription Manager, SLA Monitor, and more — each a real, working configuration rather than a blank canvas.
Open a template to see what's inside
Click a template — say an e-commerce one — and you can inspect exactly what you're getting before you use it:
- the instructions that drive it,
- the tools it uses, and
- any triggers it comes with (some templates have none, so you add your own).
This transparency matters: a template isn't a black box. You can read its instructions and see its tools, so you know precisely what the agent will do.
Use it — and customize
Happy with it? Click Use this template and Macha creates the agent for you, fully set up with its instructions and tools. From there it's a normal agent: you can — and usually should — update the instructions, tools, and triggers to match your workflow.
The customization is the important part. A template gets you 80% of the way with a sensible default; the last 20% is making it yours:
- Edit the instructions to reference your products, policies, and tone.
- Add or remove tools so it can do exactly what you want (and nothing you don't).
- Add the trigger that should run it — most templates leave this to you, since when an agent fires is specific to your setup. (See how to set up a trigger.)
- Point it at your knowledge (Help Center, docs) so its answers are grounded in your content.
Templates vs. building from scratch
- Start from a template when there's one close to your job — it saves you writing instructions and wiring tools from zero, and it's a great way to learn how a well-built agent is structured.
- Build from scratch (or with AI) when your workflow is unusual, or once you're comfortable enough that a blank agent is faster than adapting a template.
Many teams use templates to learn the patterns, then build their own once they know what good looks like.
Which template should you start with?
Match the template to your most painful, most repetitive ticket type:
- Drowning in unsorted tickets? → Ticket Triage (tags and routes everything).
- Lots of "where's my order?" → Order Lookup.
- Refund requests eating time? → Refund Handler (keep it on confirmation at first).
- Tickets aging past SLA? → SLA Monitor.
- Agents rewriting the same summary over and over? → a Summarizer template.
Pick the one that maps to your biggest queue, customize it, and you'll feel the impact fastest — then add a second once the first is humming.
Best practices
- Always customize the instructions. The template's defaults are generic; yours should reference your specifics.
- Trim the tools to exactly what the agent needs.
- Add your trigger and knowledge — templates often ship without them.
- Test it before going live, just like any agent.
Frequently asked questions
What are agent templates? Ready-made agents with pre-written instructions and pre-wired tools for common jobs (triage, refunds, order lookup, etc.) that you can use as-is or customize.
Where do I find them? Under Agent Templates in the left menu; browse by category.
Can I see what a template does before using it? Yes — open it to view its instructions, tools, and any triggers before you create the agent.
Do I have to customize it? You don't have to, but you should — at minimum edit the instructions to your business and add a trigger and knowledge.
Do templates come with triggers? Some do, some don't — many leave the trigger to you, since when to run is specific to your workflow.
The bottom line
Templates are the shortcut to a working agent: pick one close to your job, see exactly how it's built, use it, then customize the instructions, tools, triggers, and knowledge to fit. It's the fastest way to launch — and one of the best ways to learn how good agents are put together.
Start from a template: open the gallery, pick one, and have an agent running in minutes. 7-day free trial, no credit card required. Start free.
