Agent

In an Agentic chat, the agent works in steps. It searches your ticked sources, reads them in full when it needs to, and answers with citations, as a Basic (Q&A) chat does. It can also make and change files, analyse tables, and call plugins.

Each step shows above the reply as one line, such as "Searched the sources for …", "Created Budget v1" or "Merged PDFs". A spinner marks the step in progress.

What it can seeCopy Anchor Link

The agent searches and reads only the sources ticked in the Sources panel. Ticks are not a security boundary: code the agent writes runs with your user's permissions. Under your message the chat shows what it worked from, such as "Working from Plan.pdf" or "Working from 5 sources". Tick a folder to give it everything in that folder.

Office files and PDFsCopy Anchor Link

Ask for a Word document, a PDF, a PowerPoint deck or an Excel workbook, and the agent makes it. Each file appears in Studio and opens in its viewer there. A step in the reply links to it.

• Real Office files. You get a .docx, .pptx or .xlsx you can open and edit in Word, PowerPoint, Excel or LibreOffice: real headings, lists, tables, charts and speaker notes. Workbooks keep their formulas.
• Your sources' pictures and charts. The agent can place a figure from a source, or draw a chart from a source's numbers.
• It checks its work. With a model that reads images, the agent looks at the pages it made and fixes what looks wrong.
• Changes are new versions. Ask for a change in the same chat, and the agent makes the document's next version. Earlier versions stay in Studio's version list.

Documents the agent made are changed in its chat, not with Studio's Refine.

Start from your own templateCopy Anchor Link

Tick one of your own Word files or decks, and ask the agent to use it as a template. It keeps the file's styles, headers, footers and slide layouts, and replaces the body or slides with new content. A deck with no slides works as a template too.

To match a look it can't take as a template, such as a brand guide in a PDF, the agent can look at the source's pages, with a model that reads images.

Revised copies of your filesCopy Anchor Link

Ask the agent to edit one of your own Word, Excel or PowerPoint sources, and it makes a revised copy. Your original file is never changed.

• In a Word copy, every edit is a tracked change, and the agent can add comments. Studio shows them as Word does.
• Each later edit is the copy's next version.

In Studio, the copy reads "Revised copy of MSA_Acme.docx", with a count such as "7 tracked changes, 2 comments":

• Accept all or Reject all makes a new version with the tracked changes applied or removed. Both are on a Word copy's newest version.
• With changes downloads the copy with its tracked changes and comments.
• Clean downloads the Word copy with every change accepted and no comments.

The agent edits by quoting the text to change. If one edit can't be applied, nothing is saved, and the agent tries again. Word headers, footers and footnotes are not edited yet.

PDF toolsCopy Anchor Link

The agent can work on PDF sources and the PDFs it made. Each result is a new PDF in Studio.

• Pages: merge PDFs, take pages out, split, rotate or reorder pages.
• Stamps: add a watermark, page numbers, a header or a footer.
• Forms: read a form's fields, then fill them in, and optionally flatten the answers into the page.
• Convert to PDF: turn a Word document or deck into a PDF. This needs Office support.

PDFs that need a password, signature fields and XFA-only forms are not supported.

Data analysisCopy Anchor Link

Tick a spreadsheet (.xlsx) or .csv source and ask a question about its numbers. The agent writes a short analysis script, runs it on a copy of the file, and answers from the result, with tables and charts. It can then place a chart in a document it makes.

Web pagesCopy Anchor Link

Ask for a web page, such as an interactive report or an explainer, and the agent writes one. It appears in Studio as a Web page and opens in its viewer there.

A page runs with no network: it can't load anything from the internet, and links inside it don't open from Studio's viewer. Ask for changes in the same chat for its next version.

Studio formatsCopy Anchor Link

The agent can also start any other Studio format from the chat, such as a podcast, a quiz or flashcards. A step reads "Started Podcast in Studio", and the result appears in Studio when it's ready.

Code the agent writesCopy Anchor Link

To make a document or run an analysis, the agent writes a short script, and SurfSense runs it without asking. The agent has no shell: it cannot run other programs.

• The script runs in a separate process, with a time limit, an empty folder and only the libraries SurfSense ships.
• The script behind each version is kept, so the next change edits that script.

ApprovalsCopy Anchor Link

A plugin tool set to Needs approval stops the turn and asks in the chat, under its step: Allow once or Deny. Chats marks the chat "Waiting for your approval" until you answer. Denying one request also denies the others waiting in that chat.

Set each tool to Always allow, Needs approval or Blocked in Settings › Plugins. See Plugins.

Plugins with @ mentionsCopy Anchor Link

In an Agentic chat, type @ in the composer to list your ready plugins, and pick one to make the agent use it for this message. The agent can use connected plugins without a mention too.

If a plugin can't be used, the reply says so above its steps, such as "Couldn’t reach Notes" or "Sign in to Notes again". A plugin step's full result can be saved as a note with Save to Sources.

See Plugins to connect them.

Office supportCopy Anchor Link

Office support is LibreOffice, run by SurfSense on copies of your files. It's optional and free, and nothing downloads until you turn it on. With it, SurfSense:

• shows Word and PowerPoint pages as Office lays them out, when the agent checks its work;
• puts real totals in the workbooks the agent makes;
• converts Word documents and decks to PDF.

Without it, previews use SurfSense's own viewer, which can differ from Office, and a workbook's formulas show the values the script stored until Excel recalculates them.

To turn it on, open Settings › Office support and click Turn on. SurfSense asks before downloading LibreOffice from The Document Foundation. If LibreOffice is already installed, choose Use the LibreOffice I have instead. After the agent makes an Office file, the chat may offer Turn on Office support too.

SurfSense runs LibreOffice with macros, links to other files and its own updates off.

LimitsCopy Anchor Link

• The agent can't read images you attach to a message yet. Ask about images in a Basic (Q&A) chat.
• Small local models can stall on multi-step work. A strong remote model does better.
• Opening the first Agentic chat can take up to a minute while the agent starts and a local model loads.