Introduction

Abilities extend Alan's functionality by providing Alan with tools that can access internal or external services. This allows Alan to handle even more complex tasks and provide you with more personalized assistance.

In this section, we introduce you to using and managing abilities in Alan.

Abilities Included in Alan

Alan comes with a set of abilities that are available by default and can be used without additional configuration. These abilities cover a variety of use cases and provide basic functionalities that are useful for many users.

The available abilities are continuously being expanded. These currently include the following abilities:

• Internet: Allows Alan to access information on the public internet. Alan can search the web, visit websites, and extract relevant information. This ability is useful for using up-to-date information and giving Alan access to additional knowledge.
• File Creation: Allows Alan to create files. This ability can be used to generate content and provide it as a file that can be downloaded and reused. Generated files can be downloaded in the chat history. They are not shared in chat snapshots and are therefore only available to you.
• Random: Allows Alan to generate random values. This ability can be used for various purposes, such as generating random numbers or selecting random items from a list. Otherwise, Alan cannot generate random values.

The included tools of the abilities included in Alan can be found in Alan on the detail pages of the respective abilities.

Abilities Configured by Users

Alan allows users to create additional abilities that extend Alan's functionality. These abilities enable Alan to access organization-specific data and services, providing even more personalized assistance.

Abilities configured by users can be shared with your colleagues, so that a configured ability benefits many people in your organization.

Abilities can be distinguished in the chat, in the settings, and in the chat configuration by their symbol. Abilities included in Alan utilize a small square to differentiate themselves from abilities configured by users:

There are two types of abilities that users can configure in Alan:

• Custom Abilities: Custom abilities allow you to control Alan's behavior through a prompt. Optionally, HTTP tools can be added to enable Alan to access external services. For more information on configuration, see Custom Ability Configuration. This kind of ability is particularly useful if you are looking for a quick and easy way to enable Alan to access an external service or if you are looking for a way to give Alan reusable instructions without having to operate or connect your own MCP server.
• MCP Server Abilities: MCP server abilities allow you to connect MCP servers that enable Alan to access external services and data. For more information on configuration, see MCP Server Ability Configuration. This kind of ability is particularly useful if you already have an MCP server or if you need a closer integration with an external service than is possible with HTTP tools.

Note

For MCP server abilities, the tools are provided by the MCP server and are only made available to Alan during the generation of responses. They therefore do not appear on the detail pages of MCP server abilities.