Smart Agent Departments
Departments let you group agents into a browsable tree that users see in the chat sidebar.
Merged page: This file covers two pages displayed together for the department feature.
Page 72778342 "SA Agent Departments QUA"(List) —Page.72778342.SAAgentDepartments.alPage 72778343 "SA Agent Department Card QUA"(Card) —Page.72778343.SAAgentDepartmentCard.alSource table:
Smart Agent Department
Departments let you group agents into a browsable tree that users see in the chat sidebar. For example, you might have top-level departments for Sales, Finance, and Operations, each with sub-departments for specific areas. Departments with no accessible agents are hidden from end users at runtime.
In plain terms
This is purely organisation, not AI — a way to tidy your agents into a folder tree so users can find the right one quickly. As you add more agents, a flat list gets unwieldy; departments give it structure.
It's a simple folder tree — Finance, Sales, Purchasing, each with sub-areas — much like the module hierarchy in the Role Explorer. You assign an agent to a department via the Department Code field on its Agent Card. Empty departments are hidden from users automatically, so the sidebar only ever shows useful branches.
Tip: the Set Up Default Departments action builds a ready-made tree mirroring standard BC modules and even auto-files your existing agents — a good one-click starting point.
How to open it
- Tell Me (Alt+Q) → search "Smart Agent Departments".
- Role Center (if available in your customization) → Administration → Smart Agent Departments.
Fields
Smart Agent Departments list
| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Code | Code | Unique code identifying the department. |
| Description | Text | Display name shown to end users in the chat sidebar. |
| Parent Department Code | Code | Optional parent department. |
| Presentation Order | Integer | Optional sort order inside the same parent. Lower numbers appear first. |
| Icon | Text | Optional emoji or short icon label shown next to the department. |
| Agent Count | Integer | Number of agents directly assigned to this department. Drill down to see the agents. Read-only (calculated). |
The list displays departments as an indented tree. Child departments appear directly under their parent.
Smart Agent Department card — General
| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Code | Code | Unique code identifying the department. Required. |
| Description | Text | Display name shown to end users in the chat sidebar. |
| Parent Department Code | Code | Optional parent department. Leave blank for a top-level department. |
| Indentation | Integer | Auto-calculated depth in the department tree (0 = root). Read-only. |
| Presentation Order | Integer | Optional sort order inside the same parent. Lower numbers appear first. |
| Icon | Text | Optional emoji or short icon label shown next to the department. Used when no Image is uploaded. |
| Image | Media | Upload an image (PNG/JPG) to use as the department icon in the chat sidebar. Ideal size ~32x32 px. When set, it replaces the emoji Icon. |
| Agent Count | Integer | Number of agents directly assigned to this department. Read-only (calculated). |
Actions
Smart Agent Departments list
| Action | What it does |
|---|---|
| Set Up Default Departments | Create a default department hierarchy that mirrors the standard Business Central module structure (Financial Management, Sales, Purchasing, Inventory, Manufacturing, and so on) with a Tasks / Lists / Reports / Setup sub-level under each module. Existing codes are kept; only missing departments are added. Also runs keyword-based auto-assignment for unassigned agents. |
| Auto-Assign Agents to Departments | Best-effort assignment of agents that currently have no department to a sensible default module (Financial Management, Sales, Purchasing, and so on) based on the agent name. Agents that already have a department are left untouched. You can override any assignment from the Smart Agent card. |
Related pages
- Smart Agent (card) — the Department Code field on the agent card links to this list; set a department there to assign an agent
- Smart Agents list — drill down on Agent Count to see agents in a department
Notes
- The list is sorted by a computed Sort Key that ensures children always appear directly under their parent. If the order looks wrong after an upgrade, open the page; the sort keys are rebuilt automatically on open.
- Setting a department as its own parent is blocked. Creating circular parent chains (A → B → A) is also blocked.
- When you delete a department, its child departments are moved up to the deleted department's parent, and any agents assigned to the deleted department are reassigned to that parent as well. No agents are left without a valid department reference.
- When you rename a department code, the rename cascades automatically to all child departments and all agents that reference the old code.
- Set Up Default Departments is safe to run multiple times — it skips codes that already exist and reports how many departments were created and how many agents were auto-assigned.
- Agents that do not match any keyword rule after Auto-Assign Agents to Departments remain unassigned. Open each agent's card to set its department manually.
- Departments with no agents that are accessible to the current user are hidden in the chat sidebar at runtime.