Platform-provided tools you can enable: web search, webpage retrieval, time, and continue-on-phone.
Built-in tools are capabilities Anyreach hosts for you. Unlike config tools (which you define and point at your own webhooks), you turn these on by adding the matching key under built_in_tools in an agent version, and the platform supplies the implementation. The model decides when to call them during a conversation.Each built-in tool is independent: include the key to enable it, omit it to disable it. The keys live under agent.built_in_tools:
Key
Tool exposed to the model
What it does
time_tool
get_current_time
Returns the current date and time in a timezone.
web_search
web_search
Searches the web (Google, via Serper).
retrieve_webpage
retrieve_webpage
Fetches a webpage and returns it as markdown (via Firecrawl).
continue_on_phone
continue_on_phone
Starts an outbound call to move a web chat onto the phone. WebRTC only.
This page covers time_tool, web_search, retrieve_webpage, and continue_on_phone. Widgets and forms are documented on the web chat widgets and forms page.
Built-in tools are exposed to the model alongside your config tools. For how config tools work, see /agents/tools.
Enable time_tool to give the agent the get_current_time tool. The model can ask for the current date and time, optionally in a specific timezone.
Field
Type
Default
Description
default_timezone
string (IANA name)
UTC
Timezone used when the model does not pass one (for example America/New_York).
The tool accepts an optional timezone argument (an IANA name such as Europe/London or Asia/Tokyo); when omitted, the agent’s default_timezone is used. time_tool works on every channel and direction.
Enable web_search to give the agent the web_search tool, which queries Google through Serper.The tool takes:
Argument
Type
Required
Description
query
string
Yes
The search query. Supports Google operators like site: and in:.
type
enum
Yes
One of search, images, news, shopping. Invalid values fall back to search.
web_search has no configuration fields; add web_search: {} to enable it.
Web search requires a SERPER_API_KEY to be configured on the platform. If it is not set, the tool returns web_search is not configured instead of results.
Enable retrieve_webpage to give the agent the retrieve_webpage tool. It fetches a single URL and returns the page as markdown, scraped through Firecrawl. Use it to read articles, product pages, or documentation when the agent needs a page’s full content.
Argument
Type
Required
Description
url
string
Yes
The full URL to retrieve (for example https://example.com/page).
retrieve_webpage has no configuration fields; add retrieve_webpage: {} to enable it.
Webpage retrieval requires a FIRECRAWL_API_KEY to be configured on the platform. If it is not set, the tool returns retrieve_webpage is not configured.
Enable continue_on_phone to let a web chat agent move the conversation onto a phone call. When the user wants to switch from chat to a call, the model calls continue_on_phone with the user’s phone number and the platform initiates an outbound call.
continue_on_phone is only available on the WebRTC (web chat) channel. Enabling it has no effect on telephone or other channels.
The tool takes one argument from the model:
Argument
Type
Required
Description
phone_number
string (E.164)
Yes
The user’s phone number to call, for example +14155551234.
You control which agent and number place the call with the configuration fields below. All are optional.
Field
Type
Default
Description
agent_id
string
Current agent
Agent to use for the phone call. Falls back to the current agent if not set.
version
integer
Latest published
Specific agent version number. Only used together with agent_id.
agent_number
string (E.164)
Agent’s assigned number
The number to call from. Falls back to the number assigned to the agent if not set.
On the WebRTC channel only, web_search and retrieve_webpage gain an extra required argument so the agent can tell the user what it is doing while a slow call runs:
Argument
Type
Description
thinking_hint
string
A brief, contextual hint shown to the user while the tool runs (for example Looking up laptop reviews...).
On the same channel, a standalone set_thinking_hint tool is also added so the agent can surface a processing hint at any time. It takes a single required hint string.
The thinking_hint argument and the set_thinking_hint tool appear only on WebRTC. On other channels, web_search and retrieve_webpage keep their base argument set and no set_thinking_hint tool is added.
A single function, compute_runtime_tool_specs, decides which tools the runtime exposes for a given agent config, channel, and direction. The same built_in_tools config behaves differently depending on where the conversation runs:
Config-declared tools are always added first, then time_tool, then channel-specific built-ins, so the order the model sees is consistent across runs.
Direction matters for some tools beyond the built-ins (for example voicemail detection is added only for outbound telephone calls), but the built-in tools above depend only on whether they are configured and on the channel.
