Ad Hoc Agent
The Ad Hoc Agent is a standalone chat page that gives you a full-screen interactive experience with your AI agent, independent of the Role Center. It provides the same conversational capabilities as the Role Center chat but in a dedicated window with its own navigation and actions.
Accessing the Ad Hoc Agent
You can open the Ad Hoc Agent in several ways:
- From the Agent Based Accounting Role Center, search for Ad Hoc Agent in the Tell Me search bar
- Navigate directly via the Business Central URL to page Ad Hoc Agent
How It Differs from the Role Center Chat
| Aspect | Role Center Chat | Ad Hoc Agent |
|---|---|---|
| Layout | Part of the Role Center page alongside Agent Work | Full-screen dedicated page |
| Navigation | Limited to Role Center actions | Full action bar with Work, Automation, and Agent Designer sections |
| Work Tracking | Agent Work shown in separate part | Agent Work shown in a side factbox |
| File Upload | Not supported | Drag and drop files into chat |
| Interrupts | Supported | Supported |
| Saved conversations | Resume / New Conversation | Resume / New Conversation |
Both use the same default agent (the agent with Default Agent set to Yes) and share the same tool system.
Page Layout
Chat Area
The main area displays your conversation with the AI agent. You can:
- Type messages in the input field and press Enter to send
- Drag and drop files directly into the chat (images, PDFs, Excel files)
- See tool call indicators when the agent uses Business Central tools
- Interrupt the agent while tools are running by sending a new message
Work Factbox
On the right side, the Work factbox shows recent work performed by your agents, giving you quick visibility into actions taken during the conversation.
Actions
Creation
| Action | Description |
|---|---|
| New Work | Opens the New Work Wizard to create a workload through a guided process |
Work
| Action | Description |
|---|---|
| Workloads | Opens the Workload List to view and manage all workloads |
| Types | Opens the Workload Type List to manage workload templates |
Automation
| Action | Description |
|---|---|
| Inbound Workloads | Opens the Inbound Request List for external workload integration |
Agent Designer
| Action | Description |
|---|---|
| AI Agents | Opens the Worker List to create and configure agents |
| Tools Available | Opens the Tools Available page |
| Tool Designer | Opens the Tool List for creating custom tools |
| Skills | Opens the Skills list to manage agent knowledge |
| Setup | Opens the Simple Agent Designer Setup page |
Agent
| Action | Description |
|---|---|
| Resume Conversation | Opens the AI Conversations list so you can pick a previously saved chat and reload it into the page. Conversations are auto-saved after each completed reply. |
| New Conversation | Starts a fresh chat while keeping the current conversation saved for later. |
| Clear Agent | Deletes the agent work entries for the current user and clears the agent. The agent reinitializes with a fresh session. Your Business Central data is not affected. |
Using the Ad Hoc Agent
Starting a Conversation
- Open the Ad Hoc Agent page
- The chat control loads and initializes with your default agent
- Type your question or request in the input field
- Press Enter to send
Uploading Files
You can share files with the agent by dragging and dropping them directly into the chat window. Supported file types include:
- Images (for analysis with vision-capable models)
- PDF documents
- Excel spreadsheets
- CSV files
Dropped files appear as a file bubble in the chat and are sent to the agent along with your next message.
Interrupting the Agent
While the agent is executing tool calls, you can type a new message to interrupt the current operation. The agent stops its current tool processing and responds to your new message instead. This is useful when:
- The agent is taking an unexpected approach
- You want to redirect the conversation
- You need to correct information before the agent completes an action
Saving and Resuming Conversations
Your chat is auto-saved to a personal AI Conversations list after each completed reply round, storing a title, the provider and model used, and timestamps. To continue an earlier chat, choose Resume Conversation and pick it from the list (sorted with the most recently active first). To begin fresh while keeping the current chat saved, choose New Conversation.
Clearing the Session
Choose Clear Agent from the Agent menu to reset everything:
- The conversation history is cleared
- Agent work entries for your user are removed
- The agent reinitializes with fresh instructions
- A confirmation prompt appears before clearing
When to Use the Ad Hoc Agent
The Ad Hoc Agent is ideal when:
- You want a focused, full-screen chat experience without the Role Center layout
- You need quick access to agent designer, tools, and skills from the action bar
- You prefer a dedicated workspace for longer agent conversations
- You want the Work factbox alongside your chat for monitoring
For quick questions while working in the Role Center, the built-in Interactive Agent chat may be more convenient.
Tips and Best Practices
- Choose an agent with tools enabled as your default agent for the most capable chat experience
- Use the Clear Agent action when you want to start a completely fresh conversation
- Take advantage of the action bar to quickly switch to agent configuration, skills, or workloads without leaving context
- Drag and drop invoice images or spreadsheets directly into the chat for immediate analysis