From ChatGPT Wrapper to Production Agent: A NovaKit Implementation Guide

You've built a "ChatGPT wrapper." You added a nice UI on top of the OpenAI API. Maybe you have conversation history. Users can chat with an AI.

Congratulations, you've built what a million other developers built in 2023.

But that's not an agent. That's a chatbot with extra steps.

This guide shows you how to build a real production agent — one with tools, memory, knowledge bases, and automation. We'll build it step by step using NovaKit.

What We're Building

A Customer Success Agent that:

Answers product questions using your documentation (RAG)
Searches the web for competitor comparisons
Checks customer status in your database
Creates support tickets when it can't resolve issues
Remembers customer preferences and history
Triggers notifications for urgent issues

This isn't a chatbot. It's a system that handles support autonomously.

The Foundation: Understanding Agent Architecture

Before we build, let's understand what separates wrappers from agents:

Wrapper Architecture

User Message → LLM API → Response

That's it. Stateless. No tools. No memory. Just text in, text out.

Agent Architecture

User Message
     ↓
┌─────────────┐
│    Agent    │
│   Engine    │
└─────────────┘
     │
     ├─→ LLM (reasoning)
     ├─→ Tools (actions)
     ├─→ Memory (context)
     ├─→ Knowledge (RAG)
     └─→ Triggers (automation)
     ↓
Response + Side Effects

The agent doesn't just respond. It thinks, acts, remembers, and automates.

Step 1: Create the Agent Shell

Start in NovaKit's Agent Builder. Create a new agent with:

Name: Customer Success Agent

Description: Handles customer inquiries, answers product questions, and resolves issues using documentation, customer data, and support tools.

Avatar: Upload a friendly but professional image.

This metadata helps users understand what the agent does and sets expectations.

Step 2: Craft the System Prompt

The system prompt is your agent's personality, capabilities, and constraints. Here's a production-ready example:

# Role
You are a Customer Success Agent for [Company Name]. You help customers
with product questions, troubleshoot issues, and ensure their success
with our platform.

# Capabilities
You have access to:
- Company documentation and knowledge base
- Customer account information
- Support ticket system
- Web search for comparisons and external resources
- Email notifications for escalations

# Guidelines

## Response Style
- Be friendly but professional
- Give concise answers with details available on request
- Use bullet points for lists
- Include relevant documentation links
- Acknowledge when you don't know something

## Handling Queries

### Product Questions
1. Search the knowledge base first
2. Provide accurate answers with sources
3. Include relevant documentation links
4. Offer to explain further if needed

### Troubleshooting
1. Ask clarifying questions about the issue
2. Check customer's account status and configuration
3. Search knowledge base for known solutions
4. Provide step-by-step resolution
5. If unresolved after 2 attempts, create support ticket

### Account Questions
1. Look up customer information
2. Verify what you can share (no sensitive data without verification)
3. For changes, direct to account settings or create ticket

### Feature Requests
1. Acknowledge the request
2. Check if feature exists or is planned
3. Create a feature request ticket
4. Thank them for feedback

### Escalations
Create a support ticket and notify team when:
- Customer expresses frustration
- Issue isn't resolved after 2 attempts
- Security or billing concerns
- Request for human agent

# Constraints
- Never share sensitive customer data (passwords, full payment info)
- Don't make promises about features or timelines
- Don't disparage competitors
- Always be honest about limitations
- Escalate rather than guess on critical issues

# Memory Usage
Remember:
- Customer's name and company
- Previous issues they've reported
- Their product tier and features
- Preferences they've expressed

This prompt defines:

Role: What the agent is
Capabilities: What it can do
Guidelines: How it should behave
Constraints: What it must not do
Memory: What to remember

Step 3: Add Tools

Tools let your agent take action. For our Customer Success Agent:

Tool 1: Web Search

Purpose: Find information about competitors, industry trends, external resources.

In NovaKit, enable the Web Search tool. The agent can now search the internet.

Example usage:

"How does our pricing compare to Competitor X?"
"What's the latest on GDPR requirements?"

Tool 2: Web Fetch

Purpose: Extract content from specific URLs.

Enable the Web Fetch tool. The agent can read documentation, blog posts, or any public URL.

Example usage:

"What does this changelog say about the new API?"
"Summarize the article at this link"

Tool 3: Customer Lookup (Custom Webhook)

Purpose: Retrieve customer information from your database.

Create a Custom Webhook tool:

Name: Customer Lookup
Description: Look up customer account information by email or customer ID
Endpoint: https://api.yourcompany.com/customers/lookup
Method: POST
Headers:
  Authorization: Bearer ${API_KEY}
  Content-Type: application/json
Body Template: |
  {
    "email": "${email}",
    "customer_id": "${customer_id}"
  }

The agent can now query:

"Look up the customer with email john@example.com"

And receive:

{
  "name": "John Smith",
  "company": "Acme Inc",
  "plan": "Professional",
  "status": "active",
  "created_at": "2024-03-15",
  "features": ["api_access", "team_members", "priority_support"]
}

Tool 4: Create Support Ticket

Purpose: Escalate issues to human agents.

Create another webhook:

Name: Create Support Ticket
Description: Create a support ticket for issues requiring human attention
Endpoint: https://api.yourcompany.com/tickets/create
Method: POST
Headers:
  Authorization: Bearer ${API_KEY}
Body Template: |
  {
    "customer_email": "${customer_email}",
    "subject": "${subject}",
    "description": "${description}",
    "priority": "${priority}",
    "category": "${category}"
  }

The agent can now escalate:

Customer is frustrated about recurring API errors.
Creating high-priority ticket for engineering team...

Tool 5: Send Notification

Purpose: Alert team members for urgent issues.

Name: Send Slack Notification
Description: Send urgent notifications to the customer success team
Endpoint: https://hooks.slack.com/services/YOUR/WEBHOOK/URL
Method: POST
Body Template: |
  {
    "text": "🚨 ${urgency}: ${message}",
    "channel": "#customer-success-alerts"
  }

Now the agent can ping the team:

"Sending urgent notification about potential churn risk..."

Step 4: Build the Knowledge Base

RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) gives your agent access to your specific data.

What to Upload

For a Customer Success Agent:

Product Documentation
- User guides
- API references
- Feature documentation
- Troubleshooting guides
FAQs
- Common questions and answers
- Known issues and workarounds
- Best practices
Internal Resources
- Pricing details
- Feature comparison charts
- Roadmap summaries (what's shareable)
- Competitor analysis
Support Resources
- Escalation procedures
- SLA information
- Team contact list

Uploading Documents

In NovaKit's Knowledge Base section:

Click "Add Documents"
Upload files (PDF, Word, Markdown, text)
Wait for processing (chunking + embedding)
Test with sample queries

Best Practices

Chunk size matters: NovaKit handles this automatically, but understand that larger chunks preserve context while smaller chunks improve precision.

Update regularly: Documentation changes. Set reminders to refresh your knowledge base monthly.

Test retrieval: Before going live, test queries to ensure relevant content is retrieved.

Test: "How do I set up SSO?"
Expected: SSO configuration documentation
Actual: [Check retrieval results]

Add metadata: Include section headers and document titles. This helps retrieval and citation.

Step 5: Configure Memory

Memory transforms stateless interactions into ongoing relationships.

Enable Persistent Memory

In NovaKit's agent settings, enable:

Memory Extraction: Agent automatically saves important facts
Memory Retrieval: Agent recalls relevant context for new queries

What Gets Remembered

The agent automatically stores:

Customer name and company
Product tier and features
Previous issues and resolutions
Expressed preferences
Important dates (renewal, onboarding)

Memory in Action

First conversation:

Customer: Hi, I'm Sarah from TechCorp. We're on the Enterprise plan.
Agent: Hello Sarah! Great to connect. I see you're on our Enterprise
       plan which includes priority support, API access, and dedicated
       account management. How can I help you today?

Memory stored: "Customer Sarah, company TechCorp, Enterprise plan"

Second conversation (days later):

Customer: Hey, quick question about the API
Agent: Hi Sarah! Good to hear from you again. You mentioned TechCorp
       is on our Enterprise plan with API access. What's your question
       about the API?

Memory retrieved automatically. No context needed.

Memory Guidelines

Teach your agent what to remember in the system prompt:

# Memory Usage
Always remember:
- Customer's name and company
- Their plan level and key features
- Issues they've reported
- Preferences they express ("I prefer email over chat")
- Important dates (renewal, training scheduled)

Never store:
- Passwords or credentials
- Full payment details
- Personal data beyond name/email
- Complaints about specific employees

Step 6: Set Up Automation

Agents shouldn't only respond to messages. They should trigger on events.

Webhook Triggers

Create incoming webhooks that trigger your agent:

Support Ticket Created:

Endpoint: https://novakit.ai/webhooks/your-agent/ticket-created
Triggers: New support ticket
Action: Agent analyzes ticket, searches knowledge base, suggests response

Customer Sign-up:

Endpoint: https://novakit.ai/webhooks/your-agent/new-customer
Triggers: New customer registration
Action: Agent sends personalized welcome message with onboarding steps

Usage Alert:

Endpoint: https://novakit.ai/webhooks/your-agent/usage-alert
Triggers: Customer approaches usage limit
Action: Agent proactively reaches out with upgrade options

Scheduled Tasks

Configure the agent to run on schedule:

Daily: Check for customers with expiring trials Weekly: Generate summary of common issues Monthly: Create customer health reports

Event-Driven Intelligence

With triggers, your agent becomes proactive:

[Webhook: Customer usage dropped 50%]

Agent: Hi Sarah, I noticed your team's usage of our platform has
       decreased significantly this week. Is everything okay?
       I wanted to check if you're experiencing any issues or if
       there's anything I can help with.

This is the difference between a chatbot (waits for messages) and an agent (takes initiative).

Step 7: Test Thoroughly

Before launch, test every capability:

Functional Tests

Test Case	Expected Behavior
Product question	Answers from knowledge base
Unknown question	Admits uncertainty, offers alternatives
Competitor comparison	Uses web search, balanced response
Customer lookup	Retrieves correct data
Ticket creation	Creates ticket, confirms to user
Escalation trigger	Creates ticket + notifies team
Memory recall	Remembers previous conversations

Edge Cases

What happens if the API is down?
How does it handle abusive messages?
What if the customer asks about a competitor's product?
How does it respond to data deletion requests?

Load Testing

If you expect high volume:

Test concurrent conversations
Measure response latency
Check rate limit handling
Verify memory doesn't conflict across users

Security Testing

Try to extract system prompt
Attempt prompt injection
Test data access boundaries
Verify no sensitive data leakage

Step 8: Deploy and Monitor

Deployment Options

Chat Widget: Embed on your website or app

<script src="https://novakit.ai/widget/your-agent.js"></script>

API Integration: Call from your backend

const response = await novakit.agents.chat({
  agentId: 'customer-success-agent',
  message: userMessage,
  customerId: user.id
});

Slack/Discord: Connect to team channels

Use NovaKit integrations
Agent responds in threads
Maintains context per conversation

Monitoring

Track these metrics:

Performance:

Response latency (aim for <5s for complex queries)
Tool execution time
Knowledge base retrieval accuracy

Quality:

User satisfaction ratings
Escalation rate (lower is better, to a point)
Resolution rate
Repeat contacts for same issue

Usage:

Conversations per day
Messages per conversation
Peak usage times
Feature utilization

Iteration

Your first version won't be perfect. Plan for:

Week 1: Monitor closely, fix obvious issues Month 1: Analyze conversation logs, refine prompts Ongoing: Update knowledge base, add tools, improve based on feedback

The Transformation

Here's what you've built:

ChatGPT Wrapper	Production Agent
Text in → Text out	Multi-step reasoning
No memory	Remembers everything
No tools	5+ integrated tools
No data access	Knowledge base + DB
Manual only	Webhook automation
No escalation	Smart handoff
Single session	Relationship-aware

This isn't an incremental improvement. It's a different category of system.

Next Steps

Now that you have a production agent:

Expand tools: Add more integrations as needs emerge
Grow knowledge: Keep documentation current
Add agents: Create specialized agents (billing, technical, onboarding)
Orchestrate: Connect agents for complex workflows
Measure impact: Track time saved, tickets deflected, satisfaction scores

Ready to build your first production agent? Start with NovaKit's free tier and transform your customer support.