> Source: https://builder-docs.ema.ai/builder-guides/advanced/external-systems
> Title: Integrating External Systems

# Integrating External Systems

> The Intelligent Actions agent (formerly External Tool Caller) lets an AI Employee execute concrete actions -- such as creating a ServiceNow ticket, filing PTO in Workday, or updating a Salesforce opportunity -- directly inside the target system, without writing code. More than 200 pre-integrated connectors are available.

## Common Scenarios

Scenario

Example Systems

Typical Outcome

Employee Assistant

Workday, Jira

Submit time-off requests; open or update IT tickets

Finance and Audit

Coupa, SAP, NetSuite

Generate purchase orders; reconcile ledgers

Sales Intelligence

Salesforce, HubSpot

Enrich leads; advance opportunity stages

## Intelligent Actions Agent Anatomy

Element

Description

Inputs

User query and, if needed, conversation history

Configuration

Allowed apps and tools (for example, Create Ticket in ServiceNow) plus high-level instructions that help the AI Employee choose the correct action

Output

Raw JSON returned by the external system; downstream agents transform this into end-user-friendly text

The decision engine inside the agent evaluates the request, selects the appropriate tool, fills required parameters, executes the call, and returns the result for post-processing.

## Using Pre-Built Tool Support

### Step 1: Connect the App

Open the Integrations page and choose the target application (for example, ServiceNow). Select **Connect** against the "Intelligent Actions integration" field and complete OAuth or key-based authentication. When the connector card shows **Connected**, the application is available for use within the current tenant.

### Step 2: Enable Specific Tools

Within the same application panel, switch to the **Tools** tab and enable only the desired actions (for example, Create Ticket, Update Ticket Description). This gives you granular control over which actions are in scope per application within your tenant.

### Step 3: Add Intelligent Actions to Your Workflow

Drag the **Intelligent Actions** agent onto your workflow canvas. Connect it to the appropriate input source -- typically the workflow trigger or a prior logic block that handles user queries.

To display the output of the tool call, link the **Respond with Tool Result** agent immediately downstream. This response agent interprets both the original input query and the raw output from the Intelligent Actions agent, applying your configured instructions to return a user-friendly response.

### Step 4: Configure the Intelligent Actions Agent

Once the agent is selected, a configuration panel appears on the right. Click **\+ Add** to open the tool selection menu. Choose your target application and select the specific tool actions you want to enable.

A single Intelligent Actions agent can support multiple applications and tools. It selects the appropriate tool within the correct system based on the context of the incoming user query.

### Step 5: Configure Tool Parameters

Each tool may require a different set of input parameters. Click **Manage** against any tool to open its parameter configuration screen. For each input, you can specify:

-   **Fixed value** -- Use a specific constant for a parameter (for example, always default the User ID to a predefined value).

## Enabling Human-in-the-Loop (HITL) Review

Ema can pause execution and hand off control to a human reviewer before proceeding with a tool action. When HITL is enabled, the agent will prompt the user with a confirmation step. You can configure:

-   The **message text**
-   The **button labels**

You may also choose to hide specific parameters from the confirmation view (such as internal fields like User ID) to maintain clarity and protect sensitive data.

> [TIP]
> If your target system is not in the pre-built catalog, see [Custom Integrations](/legacy-docs/integrations-data/custom-integrations) to connect any external API.