> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.typewise.app/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Lookups and actions > Use the lookups and actions your team set up for the AI Agent yourself, straight from the ticket, with every action confirmed by you before it runs Your admins connect the systems your company runs on, such as an order system or a CRM, and configure what the AI Agent may read and do there: **lookups** read information, **actions** change it. Nova gives you the same tools, so you don't have to leave the ticket to check an order or update a record. A lookup runs as soon as Nova has what it needs and shows you the result. An action never runs on its own: Nova fills in a form, you check it, and you press **Execute**. | In Nova | What it does | When it runs | What you see | | :- | :- | :- | :- | | **Lookup** | Reads from a connected system or a knowledge source | Immediately, or after you fill a short form | The result, summarized in plain language | | **Action** | Changes something in a connected system | Only when you press **Execute** on its form | The values that ran, and the outcome | > [!NOTE] > > Lookups and actions are configured by your admins. Nova offers you the sources > in the [Knowledge Hub](https://docs.typewise.app/documentation/knowledge/integrations/lookups.md) and the > actions in the [Action Hub](https://docs.typewise.app/documentation/actions/overview.md), once they're > published. A lookup that a connected integration offers but that nobody has > added to the Knowledge Hub isn't on your list, even though the AI Agent may > use it as an unauthorized lookup. Nova can't add or change tools; ask an admin > for that. ## Start a lookup or an action There are two ways in, and they end in the same place: the Nova panel. ### From the composer menu Click **Nova** in the composer toolbar, or press `Ctrl/Cmd + K` while writing. A menu lists your workspace's **Actions** and **Lookups**, with a search box to find one by name. ![The Nova menu in the composer with Actions, Lookups, and Open Nova chat](https://mintcdn.com/typewise/Dj83fGQ8BZevB12r/images/documentation/nova/for-agents/lookups-and-actions/nova-menu.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=Dj83fGQ8BZevB12r\&q=85\&s=43443e4db7750a8ab55338658e86dc43) **Actions** and **Lookups** each open a list of what your workspace has. Typing in the search box filters both at once, and each match says which of the two it is. ![The Lookups list in the Nova menu](https://mintcdn.com/typewise/Dj83fGQ8BZevB12r/images/documentation/nova/for-agents/lookups-and-actions/nova-menu-lookups.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=Dj83fGQ8BZevB12r\&q=85\&s=194a3a8d49c9603fa71ce2243e88209d) ![A search in the Nova menu, with each match labeled Lookup or Action](https://mintcdn.com/typewise/Dj83fGQ8BZevB12r/images/documentation/nova/for-agents/lookups-and-actions/nova-menu-search.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=Dj83fGQ8BZevB12r\&q=85\&s=4ffe69868cfdb5fd3aba11c27d097bba) Pick one and the panel opens on it, with a first message such as *I want to use the "Check room availability" lookup*. Nova takes it from there: it reads the ticket for the values it needs and runs the lookup, or prepares the action's form. **Open Nova chat** at the bottom of the menu opens an empty conversation instead. ### By asking Describe what you want in the panel, in your own words. Nova picks the matching lookup or action from your workspace: * "What's the status of this customer's order?" * "Is there a CRM record for this email address?" * "What does our policy say about returns after 30 days?" * "Update the delivery address on her order to Bahnhofstrasse 12." You can also name the tool. "Run the Check room availability lookup" or "use the Update delivery address action" opens that tool straight away: a lookup runs, or shows its form, and an action shows its form, prefilled with whatever Nova already knows from the ticket. If more than one tool could fit, Nova asks which you mean. If none fits, it says so and names what exists, rather than picking something similar. ## Lookups Nova fills a lookup's inputs from the ticket and from your conversation, runs it, and sums up the result in a couple of sentences, the way it reads on screen rather than as raw data. Ask "What's the status of her order?" on a ticket, and Nova takes the customer's email address from the ticket, runs the order lookup, and answers with the status and the carrier. When a lookup needs a value Nova doesn't have, such as a date range or an order number the customer never mentioned, it shows a short form with what it does know filled in. Add the rest and click **Look up**. The button stays greyed out until every required field, marked with an asterisk, has a value. Nova never guesses an ID, an email address, an order number, or a date. ![A lookup form in the Nova panel asking for a start date and an end date, with Cancel and Look up](https://mintcdn.com/typewise/Dj83fGQ8BZevB12r/images/documentation/nova/for-agents/lookups-and-actions/lookup-form.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=Dj83fGQ8BZevB12r\&q=85\&s=d6bb12f2755f6dcaed5a2adbf9d002e3) Once it has run, a card headed with the lookup's name shows the values it used, and Nova's answer follows. ![A lookup card marked Executed with the values used, and Nova's answer below it](https://mintcdn.com/typewise/Dj83fGQ8BZevB12r/images/documentation/nova/for-agents/lookups-and-actions/lookup-result.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=Dj83fGQ8BZevB12r\&q=85\&s=f3ff605b6d62eff1d361c927ad196c87) Knowledge sources work the same way. Ask Nova what the AI Agent would answer, or name a source, and it searches your published knowledge and reports what it found. For a source that needs a search term, the form asks you what to look for. > [!TIP] > > Lookups and drafts combine well. Run the lookup first, then ask for a reply > "with that": the draft is built on the result instead of leaving a placeholder > for you to fill in. ## Actions An action changes something outside Typewise, so Nova always stops and shows you exactly what it's about to do. **1. Ask for the action** Pick it from the composer menu or ask for it in the panel. Nova reads the ticket and your conversation for the details. **2. Check the form** A form appears in the panel, headed with the action's name. Under it, Nova notes which integration the action belongs to. Admins also see which Specialists use it. ![An action form in the Nova panel with prefilled fields, Execute, and Cancel](https://mintcdn.com/typewise/Dj83fGQ8BZevB12r/images/documentation/nova/for-agents/lookups-and-actions/action-form.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=Dj83fGQ8BZevB12r\&q=85\&s=6040b205b6c2bfb8cb900206517ad220) 1. The fields, prefilled with what Nova found: here the new address from the customer's message and her verified email address 2. **Execute**, next to **Cancel** A field Nova couldn't fill is left empty, never guessed. Change anything you like before you execute. **3. Execute or cancel** Click **Execute** to run the action with the values in the form, or **Cancel** to run nothing. The action runs with **your** values, not the ones Nova proposed. **4. Read the outcome** The form turns into a card. **Executed** lists the values that ran and the result the connected system returned. **Failed** shows the reason the system gave, in everyday words, and Nova suggests what to try next. ![An executed action card showing the values that ran and the result](https://mintcdn.com/typewise/Dj83fGQ8BZevB12r/images/documentation/nova/for-agents/lookups-and-actions/action-executed.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=Dj83fGQ8BZevB12r\&q=85\&s=f990f3c21028f88a713e3e333ea24908) Some actions take no inputs. Their form says so, and **Execute** runs them as they are. > [!NOTE] > > Cancelling is final for that proposal: the card reads **Cancelled. Nothing was > run.**, and Nova asks how you want to proceed rather than trying again. Nova > proposes one action at a time and waits for your decision before anything > else. If you give Nova new details while a form is still open, it replaces the > form with a fresh one and marks the old one **Inputs revised**. ## What Nova can't run * **Manual actions.** A [manual action](https://docs.typewise.app/documentation/actions/manual-actions.md) is a task for a person, not a system. Nova explains what it is and where your team handles it. * **Lookups nobody has added to the Knowledge Hub.** A connected integration can offer more lookups than your admins have added as sources. The AI Agent may run those as [unauthorized lookups](https://docs.typewise.app/documentation/knowledge/integrations/lookups.md#authorized-vs-unauthorized-lookups); Nova offers you only the sources in the Knowledge Hub. * **Unpublished changes.** Nova uses the workspace's published configuration. A lookup or action an admin added but hasn't published yet isn't available, and Nova says so when it matters. * **Anything in your workspace's setup.** Creating or editing lookups, actions, Specialists, or knowledge sources is an admin's job. A result from a knowledge source your admins set to **No sharing allowed** is shown to you in the panel but never pasted into a reply to the customer. See [Access levels](https://docs.typewise.app/documentation/knowledge/access-levels.md). ## Example: from question to reply A customer on an email ticket asks where her order is, and mentions she has moved. **1. Ask** In the panel: "What's the status of her order, and who is delivering it?" **2. Nova looks it up** Nova takes the customer's email address from the ticket, runs the order status and shipping provider lookups, and answers in one line: the order is out for delivery with DHL. **3. Act, if needed** "Update her delivery address to the new one she gave in the ticket" brings up the **Update delivery address** form with the new address and her email address filled in. Check it and click **Execute**. The card turns to **Executed** and shows the result the system returned. **4. Reply** "Draft a reply with that." Nova writes the reply in the customer's language, with the delivery status and the address change, ending in **Insert**. Insert it, read it over, and send. ## Troubleshooting > **Nova says it can't find a lookup or action** > > It isn't configured in your workspace, it's a lookup nobody has added to > the Knowledge Hub, or it hasn't been published yet. Nova names what does > exist. Ask an admin to add or publish the tool. > **The menu says No matches or Could not load these** > > **No matches** means nothing in your workspace matches what you typed. Clear > the search to see the full list. **Could not load these** means the list > didn't arrive; close the menu and open it again. > **Nova asks me for a value I expected it to know** > > Nova fills in what the ticket, your conversation, and earlier lookups give it. > An order number the customer never wrote, or an ID that only lives in another > system, has to come from you. Nova never guesses one. > **A lookup didn't answer** > > Nova tells you it couldn't check that just now and carries on with what it > has. Ask again in a moment. If the same lookup keeps failing, tell your admin, > who can check the integration under > [Troubleshooting](https://docs.typewise.app/documentation/troubleshooting/mcp-tools.md). > **An action failed** > > The card shows the reason the connected system gave, for the values that > ran. Fix the value it names and ask Nova to propose the action again, or > handle it in the system directly. ## Related * [Nova for Agents](https://docs.typewise.app/documentation/nova/for-agents/overview.md) * [Write replies with Nova](https://docs.typewise.app/documentation/nova/for-agents/writing-replies.md) * [Lookups](https://docs.typewise.app/documentation/knowledge/integrations/lookups.md) and [Actions](https://docs.typewise.app/documentation/actions/overview.md), for how admins configure them * [Manual lookups](https://docs.typewise.app/documentation/knowledge/manual-lookups.md) and [Manual actions](https://docs.typewise.app/documentation/actions/manual-actions.md) This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.