---
title: "Creating Intelligent Agents in D2L"
canonical: "https://help.cccs.edu/space/KnowledgeBase/359333889/Creating%20Intelligent%20Agents%20in%20D2L"
format: markdown
---
The Intelligent Agents tool allows Instructors to set up automatic notifications to be sent to themselves and students when specified course performance criteria are met. It can be used to both recognize student achievement (i.e., a high score on a quiz) and warn of potential problems (i.e., lack of online activity or poor performance on an exam). The following images demonstrate the process of creating an Intelligent Agent.

**Step 1**

In the course in which you want the Intelligent Agent, select **Course Admin** from the **More Tools** drop down menu:

![Navigation Bar with More Tools Drop Down. Course Admin is the first option in More Tools.](media://ac723d17-b96f-46a8-9d56-4fae6c2b8246)

**Step 2**

On the **Course Administration** screen, under **Communication **category, click the **Intelligent Agents** link.

![Intelligent Agents is in the Communication section in Course Administration.]()

**Step 3**

From the Agent list window, click **Settings**, the gear in the upper right hand corner.

![Settings gear icon at the top right of the Agent List.](media://c5527a9a-1ca5-4b52-8fb3-f0dd6f958628)

**Step 4**

Choose the **Set custom values for this course** radio button and enter your full name and CCCS email. Then click **Save**.

![Intelligent Agents Settings. The Set custom values for this course button is selected.](media://3d319225-6f2b-4904-bca8-589510b4f2b6)

**Step 5**

From the Agent List Window, click the **New Agent **button.

![Blue New Agent button below the Agent List title.](media://a688eaa2-90ca-45f4-80e2-005b7b3aa1b1)

**Step 6**

In the New Agent window, give your agent a name and description by typing in the **Agent Name** and **Description **text boxes.

![New Agent section with fields for name and description, dropdown for category, checkbox for Status, and three additional sections for Scheduling, Criteria, and Actions](media://4b72bc1a-7d30-40cf-82c8-3a57c78fc998)

**Step 7**

From the New Agent window, setup the agent criteria in the **Role in Classlist, Login Activity** and/or **Course Activity** sections.

![Intelligent Agents Criteria.](media://ba5d79e8-e217-4778-be9f-2419d8900ce6)


**Step 8**

From the New Agent window, setup of the Actions section.

The **Repetition **section allows you to choose whether to send the notification only the first time or every time the criterion is met.

In the **Send a Message** section you will define to whom messages are sent. When an agent runs, when a user meets that agent’s criteria (or the first time, depending on the selections made in the Repetition section), it will trigger and send an email.

1. In the **To:** field, enter the address the email should be sent to. If you want the email to go to the user who triggered the agent (for example, the student who didn’t login for the past week), enter **{InitiatingUser}** instead of an email address. This replacement string will be traded out for the user's D2L internal messaging address when they meet the criterion.
2. In the CC: and/or the BCC: field, you may enter your D2L internal messaging address OR your CCCS email account (note that this is the only time you may use an external email address from within D2L.)
3. A Subject line is required. If you are interested in using replacement strings in this line, click the blue **“What replace strings can I use in the subject and message”** text beneath the subject text box to see the other options available. These may also be used in the message body to further personalize the message.

![Intelligent Agents Actions Setup with Repetition, Change User Enrollments, and Send an Email sections.](media://a5704e57-edd2-4bc6-9845-0fbd11422a1f)

![Intelligent Agents Email with Message, Attachments, and Email Format sections.](media://9aa5a16c-5ad7-4b15-b836-b5b0c60630be)

Use the **Schedule section** to set a schedule for how frequently to run a check for the selected criteria, select the **Use Schedule** checkbox and then click the **Update Schedule** button.

![Intelligent Agents scheduling section with dropdown under Frequency.](media://6d60f531-0290-4d7e-b99d-556edacefc7b)

From the **Update Agent Schedule** window, set your desired schedule and then click **Update**.

***Note: Be sure to set the end date as the last date of the semester.**

![Agent Scheduling with Frequency, Repeats Every, Scheduled Time, and Schedule Dates sections.](media://ed7b94e5-f37c-4995-8bd9-d42ddaac8e7e)

**Step 9**

NOTE: For a list of other strings you can use in these fields, see D2L’s [Replace Strings for Agents](https://community.d2l.com/brightspace/kb/articles/6105-automatically-customize-course-content-using-replace-strings) documentation.

Click **Save and Close** and your new intelligent agent will be created. 

**Step 10**

To try a practice run of your agent, click the dropdown arrow next to the agent name and select **Practice Run**. Then choose **Run** in the popup window that opens. The agent will identify users that meet its criteria, but it won’t send any actual emails. You can see the results under **View History** (see next step).

![Practice Run is the fourth section in the dropdown next to the Agent title in the Agent List.]()

**Step 11**

To view the history of previous runs (including who received emails and when), click the dropdown arrow next to the agent name and select **View History**.

![View History is the third option in the dropdown next to the Agent title.]()