Working with Participants and Users

With ELITEA, you can add to your chat two kinds of participants — users (human team members) and AI participants (agents, pipelines, toolkits and MCPs). All participants are displayed and can be managed in the PARTICIPANTS panel of the CHATS page.

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How to Work with Users

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Add Users to a Chat

Users (team members) can only be added to in team projects. They cannot be added to private conversations. To add users:

1. In the chat input toolbar, click the + icon.
2. Select Invite Users from the popup menu.
3. The Add users modal will appear with a search bar.
4. Use the search bar to find teammates by name.
5. Select one or more users from the list by clicking on them.
6. Click Add to confirm. The selected users will appear in the Users section of the PARTICIPANTS panel.

Important Notes:

• Added users will receive notifications about being added to the conversation.
• Users can also join a public conversation implicitly by interacting with it.
• Users can be removed by hovering over their avatar in the Users section of the Participants panel and clicking the remove icon.

Tips for Effective Collaboration in Team Projects

• Use @ mentions to notify specific teammates in a conversation.
• Group related conversations into folders for better navigation.
• Define roles, responsibilities, and deadlines directly in the chat.
• Regularly post progress updates and flag blockers in the conversation.

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View Users

All conversation participants are visible in the PARTICIPANTS panel on the right side of the chat interface:

• Users Section: Shows human teammates as circular avatars
• Visual Display: When multiple users are present, their avatars are displayed in a row
• Participant Count: If there are more users than can fit in the display, a count indicator (e.g., “+3”) shows additional participants
• Users Dropdown: Hover over the Users section to reveal the users icon, then click it to see the complete list of all conversation participants
• Sorted List: Users appear in alphabetical order by name in the dropdown menu

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Mention Users

Mentioning teammates directs messages to them and highlights their name in the conversation for better visibility. How to Mention a Specific User: Method 1: Using the Participants Panel

1. In the PARTICIPANTS panel, hover over the Users section to reveal the users icon.
2. Click the users icon to open the users dropdown.
3. Hover over the user’s name you want to mention — an @ symbol overlay appears.
4. Click the user’s name (or the @ overlay) to insert the mention into your message.

Method 2: Using @ in Chat Input

1. In the chat input field, type @
2. A suggestion list appears showing all users in the conversation
3. Select the user you want to mention from the list (or continue typing their name to filter)
4. The mention is inserted into your message

The user’s mention will be automatically inserted into the chat input field. Mention Everyone: To direct your message to all participants in the conversation:

1. In the PARTICIPANTS panel, hover over the Users section to reveal the users icon.
2. Click the users icon to open the users dropdown.
3. Select “All users” from the dropdown (appears at the bottom after the divider, only shown when there are 2 or more users).
4. The @Everyone mention is inserted into your message.
5. Complete your message and send.

Alternatively, type @ in the chat input and select “Everyone” from the suggestion list.

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Remove Users from the Chat

To remove a user from the chat:

1. In the PARTICIPANTS panel, hover over the Users section to reveal the users icon.
2. Click the users icon to open the dropdown.
3. Hover over the user’s name — a Delete icon appears on the right.
4. Click the Delete icon.
5. In the confirmation dialog (“Remove user? Are you sure to remove the [name] user from conversation?”), click Remove to confirm.

The user will be immediately removed from the conversation and will no longer have access to the chat.

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Working with AI Participants

AI participants — Agents, Pipelines, Toolkits, MCPs — are the core components you interact with within a conversation.

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Add Existing AI Participants

You can add various AI participants to enhance your conversations:

1. In the chat input toolbar, select the + icon (tooltip: Add files, agents, toolkits and more…).
2. A popup menu opens. Hover over the category you want:
   • Agents — shows a searchable list of available agents
   • Pipelines — shows a searchable list of available pipelines
   • Toolkits — shows a searchable list of available toolkits (with a Public/Private toggle)
   • MCPs — shows a searchable list of available MCP servers (with a Public/Private toggle)
3. Search by name in the submenu search box, then select a participant to add it.
4. The added participant appears in the PARTICIPANTS panel on the right side of the screen.
5. For Agents and Pipelines: selecting the participant in the panel activates it. An AgentEditorPanel strip appears above the input area showing the participant name, version selector, variables and a settings button.

For agents and pipelines, you can also use symbols,

• # opens a Search results dropdown of available agents and pipelines.
• & opens the same dropdown restricted to private agents and pipelines only (public ones are excluded).

To add an existing agent or pipeline to your chat:

1. In the chat input box, type # or &.
2. Continue typing to filter by name (e.g., #Jira will show matching results).
3. Select a participant from the filtered list.
4. The selected participant appears in the PARTICIPANTS panel.

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Create New AI Participants

You can create new participants directly from the chat interface via the + menu:

1. Select the + icon in the input toolbar.
2. Hover over the relevant category (Agents, Pipelines, Toolkits or MCPs).
3. Select the Create New {Type} option at the bottom of the submenu.
4. The corresponding Canvas editor opens inline.

The PARTICIPANTS panel shows one collapsible accordion per participant type — Users, Agents, Pipelines, Toolkits and MCPs — with the Users accordion shown only in team projects.

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Use AI Participants in a Chat

Once added, participants are ready to process your messages:

1. Check Participants: Ensure the desired participant is listed in the Participants section.
2. Select Active Participant(s):
   • Click: Click the participant’s name/icon in the Participants list to make it active for your next message.
3. Send Message/Command: Type your message or a simple command (like “Go”, “Execute”, “Run it”) and press Send. The active participant(s) will process your input.

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Mention Skills

You can direct the active agent to use one of its own skills by typing ~ in the chat input.

1. Make an Agent the active participant — skill mentions are only available while an agent is active, and only list the skills attached to that agent’s current version.
2. In the chat input box, type ~ to open the skills dropdown.
3. Continue typing to filter by skill name.
4. Use the arrow keys to highlight a skill and press Enter, or click a skill from the list, to select it.
5. The mention is committed to the input as ~{SkillName} with a highlight and a trailing space so you can continue typing your message.

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Mention Toolkits and Tools

You can direct the AI to use a specific tool from an already-added toolkit by typing / in the chat input. This is a two-phase selection: Select a Toolkit:

1. In the chat input box, type / to open the Mention toolkit dropdown.
2. The dropdown lists all toolkits that are already added as participants in the current conversation.
3. Continue typing to filter by toolkit name (e.g., /Jira filters to Jira-related toolkits).
4. Click a toolkit name from the dropdown, or type the full name and press / again to confirm it.
5. The input updates to /{ToolkitName}/ and the dropdown switches to show the toolkit’s available tools.

Select a Tool:

6. The dropdown now shows ” available tools” with all tools exposed by that toolkit.
7. Continue typing after the second / to filter tools by name (e.g., /Jira/create shows create-related tools).
8. Each tool shows its name and a short description.
9. Click the desired tool to confirm the selection.
10. The mention is committed to the input as /{ToolkitName}/{ToolName} with a cyan highlight and a trailing space so you can continue typing your message.

You can include multiple toolkit tool mentions in a single message, and they can be placed anywhere within the message. For example: Please use /Jira/createIssue to create a new issue and then /GitHub/createPR to create a pull request. Each mention is highlighted independently and sent to the AI as separate tool directives.

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Configure AI Participants

You can configure and edit participants (Agents, Pipelines, Toolkits, and MCPs) directly within the conversation using the Canvas editor. Accessing Participant Settings:

1. Option 1: Click the participant in the Participants list, then click the ⚙️ (settings) icon.
2. Option 2: Hover over the participant element in the Participants list and click the Edit icon that appears.
3. The appropriate Canvas editor will open based on the participant type.

What You Can Configure:

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Applying Changes:

1. Make your edits in the Canvas editor.
2. Click the Save button to apply your modifications.
3. The updated configuration will be used for subsequent messages in the conversation.

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How to Use Public Agents from Chat

Public Agents are:

• Pre-configured AI assistants designed for specific tasks
• Created by community members and approved by moderators
• Contain specialized instructions, model configurations, and integrated toolkits
• Examples: Data analysis agents, code review assistants, documentation generators

Key Characteristics

• Community-Driven: Shared by other Elitea users after quality review
• Easily Identifiable: Marked with a “Public” chip/badge for quick recognition
• Read-Only Core Config: Core configuration cannot be modified (with temporary adjustments noted below)
• Immediately Usable: Add to conversations and start using right away
• Discoverable: Browse Latest, My Likes, and Trending sections

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Differences Between Public and Private Agents

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Functionality

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Permissions and Limitations

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What You Can Do

✔️ Execute Public Agents:

• Run public agents in your conversations
• Use them as many times as needed
• Combine multiple public agents in one conversation

✔️ View and Temporarily Modify Configurations: Public agents open with limited editing capabilities. You can view configurations and make temporary adjustments for your current conversation:

• Click the agent in PARTICIPANTS → Click ⚙️ settings icon
• Agent Canvas opens with read-only core configuration
  • You CAN temporarily modify:
    • LLM model selection
    • Model settings (Temperature, Top P, Top K, etc.)
    • Variables
  • You CANNOT modify or save:
    • Agent prompt/instructions
    • Toolkit configurations
    • Other core settings

✔️ Create Your Own Versions:

• While you cannot save modifications to public agents, you can create your own agent
• Copy concepts and adapt them to your needs in your Private or Team projects
• Save customized versions permanently in your workspace

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What You Cannot Do

✘ Save Modifications to Public Agents:

• Cannot save changes to model settings, variables, or credentials
• Temporary adjustments only last for the current conversation
• Each new conversation with the public agent starts with default configuration

✘ Delete or Unpublish:

• Only the original author and moderators can manage publication status
• Users cannot remove public agents from the community library

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Important Notes

When Creating Your Own Versions:

• Learn from Public Agents: Study how successful agents are structured, understand prompt engineering techniques, and learn effective configuration patterns
• Adapt, Don’t Copy Exactly: Create variations suited to your specific needs, combine concepts from multiple public agents, and add your own improvements
• Consider Publishing: If you create something valuable, consider publishing it back to the community to share your improvements and help others

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Access Public Agents from Chat

Public agents are accessible directly within any conversation through the Chat interface. Method 1: Using the # Search The quickest way to find and add public agents is using the # symbol:

1. Open or Create a Conversation:
   • Navigate to Chat in the main sidebar
   • Click + Create for a new conversation, or open an existing one
2. Search for Public Agents:
   • In the message input box, type # followed by the name or keywords
   • A dropdown list appears showing matching agents
   • The list includes both your own agents and public community agents
   • Public agents are marked with a “Public” chip/badge for easy identification
3. Select the Agent:
   • Click on the desired agent from the dropdown
   • The selected agent appears as a chip above the input box
4. Send Your Message:
   • Type your message or question
   • Click Send or press Enter
   • The public agent will process your request

Method 2: Using the Participants Panel You can also add public agents through the PARTICIPANTS panel on the right side:

1. Locate the Participants Panel:
   • On the right side of the chat interface, find the PARTICIPANTS section
   • You’ll see a collapsible section for Agents
2. Add Public Agents:
   • Click the + icon next to Agents
   • A dropdown list appears with available agents, including public ones
   • Public agents are marked with a “Public” chip/badge
   • Select the public agent you want to add
3. Interact with the Agent:
   • Click on the participant in the PARTICIPANTS list to activate it
   • Type your message and send

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Use Public Agents

Step-by-Step:

1. Add the Public Agent:
   • Use #AgentName in the input box, OR
   • Click + next to Agents in the PARTICIPANTS panel
2. Activate the Agent:
   • Click on the agent name in the PARTICIPANTS list
   • The active agent is highlighted in the list
3. Interact:
   • Type your message or click a conversation starter if available
   • Send your message
   • The public agent processes your request and responds

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Best Practices

Adding and Managing Users

• Use Search: In the Add users modal, use the search bar to quickly find teammates by name in large teams
• Multiple Users: You can add multiple users at once from the Add users modal for team-wide conversations
• User Management: Remove users who no longer need access to keep conversations focused and secure

Using Mentions Effectively

• Strategic Mentions: Use @mentions to get specific users’ attention on important updates or questions
• Mention Everyone Sparingly: Use @Everyone only for critical announcements to avoid notification fatigue

Human-AI Collaboration

• Collaboration: Combine user mentions with AI participants (agents, pipelines) for powerful human-AI collaboration
• Teamwork: Use conversations to enable seamless collaboration between human teammates and AI assistants

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Troubleshooting

Cannot see 'Add users' option

• Verify you’re in a team project (not your personal/private project)
• User collaboration features are disabled in private workspaces

User not appearing in search results

• Ensure the user is a member of your project/team
• Check if the user has been filtered by existing participants (already added users don’t appear in search)
• Scroll down in the user list - there may be more results below

Cannot remove a user

• You cannot remove yourself from the conversation
• Only users who were added to the conversation can be removed
• The conversation creator and project members with appropriate permissions can remove users

Mentions not working

• Ensure you’re typing @ followed by the username
• Select the user from the dropdown menu that appears
• Verify the user is still a participant in the conversation