Using Operator Mode to configure your Knowledge Agent

Operator Mode gives your Knowledge Agent the tools to configure itself and take action in Guru, right from the chat you're already in. Turn it on to build and edit skills, update your agent's system prompt, find out why a specific answer went wrong, and handle everyday Guru tasks like commenting on a Card or reorganizing folders. You describe what you want in plain language, and the agent does the rest.

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Access Required
You need Manage Questions or Manage Settings permission on a Knowledge Agent to see the Operator Mode toggle.

Manage Settings. Build and edit skills, update the system prompt, and analyze answers and threads. Manage Settings alone doesn't include updating answers.

Manage Questions. Analyze answers and threads, and update answers. Skill and system prompt changes aren't available.

Turning on Operator Mode

The Operator Mode toggle sits on the chat box in the Guru web app, in both main chat and the chat side panel. It's off by default whenever you start a new chat, so your agent behaves normally until you choose otherwise.

Open a chat with a Knowledge Agent you manage.
Turn on the Operator Mode toggle on the chat box.
Describe what you'd like the agent to do.

Operator Mode stays on for the rest of the conversation until you turn it off. You can switch it on or off at any point, including partway through a conversation. That means you can go from asking your agent a question to fixing the skill behind its answer without starting a new chat.

Messages sent in Operator Mode appear in purple, with markers in the thread showing where the mode was turned on or off.

Some entry points open the chat with Operator Mode already on, like launching chat from Agent Settings or clicking Analyze in the AI Agent Center. The toggle stays visible there too, so you can turn it off if you don't need it.

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Note
Operator Mode is available in the Guru web app only. It isn't available in the browser extension or in Slack.

Understanding what Operator Mode can do

With Operator Mode on, your agent keeps running its skills as usual and gains an extra set of tools for configuring itself and working in Guru.

Build and edit skills. Describe a new behavior or a change to an existing skill, and the agent drafts it for you.
Update the system prompt. Ask for a change to your agent's overall instructions in plain language.
Analyze answers and threads. Give the agent an answer or thread and ask why it responded the way it did.
Update answers. Correct a specific answer by working out the right wording and sources with the agent, then saving the update.
Take action in Guru. The agent can handle everyday tasks like adding a comment to a Card, searching in the Card Manager, or reorganizing folders. If you can do it yourself in Guru, the agent can usually do it for you.

Approving changes

Operator Mode is built so you stay in control of every change.

It acts as you. Every action uses your own Guru permissions, so the agent can't see or change anything you couldn't see or change yourself.
Changes wait for your approval. Looking things up happens automatically. Anything that creates, edits, or deletes data pauses first and asks you to approve it in plain language, for example "Allow Guru to create card comment?"
Always allow covers one action. Selecting Always allow applies only to that specific action, not to everything Operator Mode can do.
Sensitive areas are off limits. Admin, sign-in, and billing actions are blocked in Operator Mode.

Once you approve a change, it saves to your agent's live configuration right away.

Building and editing skills

Describe what you want in plain language, and the agent drafts a new skill or edits an existing one in the same conversation.

Example: "I want you to be able to answer questions about our leave policy."

The agent proposes the skill and asks for your approval before saving it. Once you approve, the change appears on your agent's Skills page.

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Note
You can still edit skills manually from the Skills page without using Operator Mode. The two work side by side.

Editing the system prompt

Describe the change you want in plain language. The agent drafts an update to the system prompt and asks for your approval before it goes live.

Inspecting and fixing a bad answer

The fastest way to start is from the AI Agent Center. Hover over any row in the Questions or Threads table and click Analyze. Guru opens the chat with Operator Mode turned on and starts the analysis right away.

From the Questions table. Guru opens the thread the question belongs to, scrolls to that question, and passes along its Answer ID so the analysis targets the right answer.
From the Threads table. Guru opens the full thread for analysis.

You can also turn on Operator Mode in any chat and paste in a thread ID or Answer ID.

Either way, the agent traces which skills fired, which sources it pulled, and where the response went wrong. From there, you can ask it to fix the underlying skill. The agent regenerates the answer in a test context, and if the new answer is correct, the fix persists so future questions on the same topic get a better response. To correct the answer itself, see Updating an answer.

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Tip
Operator Mode isn't just for bad answers. Use it proactively to build new skills, refine instructions across several skills at once, or test how your agent handles a question before it reaches your team.

Updating an answer

When your agent gives a wrong answer, you can correct it by chatting with the agent. Work out the right answer together, then have the agent save it over the original. The original question, the person who asked it, and the conversation stay the same.

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Access Required
You need Manage Questions permission on the Knowledge Agent to update answers. Manage Settings alone isn't enough.

Open the answer in the AI Agent Center and click Analyze. Operator Mode opens already on, with the answer loaded. You can also turn on Operator Mode in any chat and point the agent to the answer.
Work out the right answer with the agent. Tell it which Card it should have used, ask it to fix the wording, or ask it to add or remove sources.
Say "update the answer."
Review the final answer text and source list. The agent shows both and asks for your approval before it saves.
Approve the change. The answer is replaced.

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Tip
If a source gave the agent bad information, fix the source first. Then ask the agent to read it again and cite it in the new answer. For example: "Read the Parental leave policy Card again and update the answer from it, including the Card as a cited source." That way, the next person who asks gets the right answer too.

What changes when you update an answer

Answer and sources. The answer text and its cited sources are replaced.
Question and asker. The original question, the person who asked it, and the conversation stay the same.
Status. The answer is marked Helpful and Answered, and the update is logged in the answer's activity.
Notification. The person who asked gets an "answer corrected" email.

Choosing sources for an updated answer

Every updated answer needs at least one source, and you need to be able to open every source on it. If one source isn't accessible to you, Guru doesn't save the update. Ask the agent to remove or replace that source, then try again.

Guru Cards. The agent can add any Guru Card as a new source.
Other sources. Records from connected sources, Card attachments, web results, and MCP results can stay on the answer if they were already cited. The agent can't add them as new sources.
Wording only. If you only ask for new wording, the agent keeps the existing sources and saves the new text.

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Tip
Guru checks your access to each source, not the asker's. Cite sources the person who asked can open too, so they can follow the corrected answer.

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Note
Sources you add through an update aren't given extra weight in search for similar questions. An update corrects that one answer. To improve answers to similar questions, fix the source content or the skill.

Using Operator Mode in automations

You can also turn on Operator Mode when setting up a Knowledge Agent Automation. This lets a scheduled automation take actions in Guru, not just answer questions. Operator Mode is off by default for automations too, so you choose which ones need it.

Frequently asked questions about Operator Mode

Does Operator Mode change how my agent works for everyone else?
No. Every chat starts with Operator Mode off, and only people with permission to manage the agent see the toggle. Everyday chats aren't affected.

Can I turn Operator Mode on partway through a conversation?
Yes. Turn it on or off at any point. Once it's on, it stays on until you turn it off.

Does my agent still run its skills in Operator Mode?
Yes. Your agent keeps using its skills as normal. Operator Mode adds tools on top of them.

Are changes live immediately?
Yes. Approved changes save to your agent's configuration right away. There's no native undo, though version history exists across agent configuration.

Can I use Operator Mode in the browser extension or Slack?
No. Operator Mode is only available in the Guru web app, in main chat, the chat side panel, and the Automations configuration.

Why don't I see the Operator Mode toggle?
You need Manage Questions or Manage Settings permission on that Knowledge Agent. If you can analyze answers but can't edit skills, you likely have Manage Questions only. Check with your Knowledge Agent Owner or Admin.

Who can update an answer?
Anyone with Manage Questions permission on the Knowledge Agent. Manage Settings alone isn't enough.

Can I update an answer without changing its sources?
Yes. If you only ask for new wording, the agent keeps the existing sources and saves the new text.

Can I save an answer with no sources?
No. Every updated answer needs at least one source. If you don't change the sources, the agent carries the existing ones forward.

What happens if I can't open one of the sources?
Guru doesn't save the update. Ask the agent to remove or replace that source, then try again.

Does the person who asked find out?
Yes. They get an "answer corrected" email.

Does Operator Mode update answers on Knowledge Agents without Skills?
Knowledge Agents without Skills use Edit answer in the AI Agent Center instead. See Legacy Knowledge Agents (without Skills).