Give an agent a task
Hand an agent a job to do in the background, then find the result, run it again or delete it.
A task is a job you describe once. The agent works on it in the background, and the result waits in a list for you. Use a task when you know what you want and do not need to steer.
Give a task
- Open the agent and choose the Tasks tab.
- Under Give a task, write the job in What should it do?
- Optionally add a Title (optional) and Needed by (optional). Needed by is a note for you, such as "Friday morning". It does not schedule anything.
- Choose Give task.
The task appears in the list with a status.
Task statuses
- Queued and Working: it is on its way.
- Paused: the run was paused. See Pause, resume and retry a run.
- Waiting for your approval: the agent wants to use a tool that needs your say-so. Decide in Approvals.
- Waiting for your budget decision: the agent reached its monthly budget. See Understand what a run costs.
- Done, Failed or Cancelled: finished.
A finished task shows a preview of the result, or the reason it failed.
Work with a task
- Open run shows the full trace of the latest run.
- Run again repeats the same job as a new run. It is available once the task has finished.
- Delete removes a finished task.
The Tasks page in the top bar lists tasks from all your agents, with the agent's name on each.
Good to know
- Tasks are ordinary runs: the same tools, approvals, budgets and limits apply, and each shows up in Runs with its cost.
- A paused agent cannot take tasks. Choose Resume (then save) first.
- Write a task the way you write instructions: say what to do, with which facts, and what the answer should look like. See Write instructions that work.
More guides in PGB Agents
What a PGB Agent is and what it can do
An agent is a saved job with instructions, a list of allowed tools, a budget and a record of every step it takes.
Create an agent from scratch or from the Marketplace
Make a blank agent in two clicks, or add a ready-made one from PGB Marketplace and review it before it runs.
Write good instructions for an agent
How to word the Instructions box so an agent does the right job, stays inside its limits and tells you when it is unsure.
Choose tools and understand which need approval
The list of tools an agent can use, what each does, and which ones always pause for your approval.
Start agents manually, on a schedule or from a webhook
Run an agent by hand, set it to repeat with the schedule builder, or give it a private web address that starts a run.
Set budgets and know when a run will stop
Put a dollar limit on each run and each month, and learn the other limits that stop an agent from running away.