Applaud tools overview

Applaud tools let AI assistants and workflows work with data and capabilities that live in your Applaud tenant.

For example, an assistant can use an Applaud tool to look up a recognition, retrieve a custom record, update information, or generate a document from a template.

The built-in Applaud connection is available in every tenant. You don't need to create or configure a separate connection for it.

Applaud tools provide two main capabilities:

• Custom objects - work with data and operations available through your Applaud APIs.
• Document generation - generate documents from templates managed in Applaud.

You choose which capabilities to make available as tools and which assistants or workflows can use them.

• For more information about Agent Tools overall, see the Agent Tools overview.

Why use Applaud tools?

Organizations use Applaud to store and manage custom records, recognition data, case-related information, templates, and other data that your AI assistant may need to access.

Applaud tools let an assistant work with this information directly.

For example:

Employee: "Have I received a recognition this quarter?"

Assistant: Uses a custom object tool to retrieve the employee's recognition records.

Or:

Employee: "Can you give me a letter confirming my employment?"

Assistant: Uses a document generation tool to create the letter from a configured template.

This means employees can complete supported tasks without leaving the assistant to search for information or perform the same action elsewhere in the platform.

What Applaud tools can do

Work with custom objects

Custom object tools let you expose APIs from your Applaud tenant as tools for AI assistants and workflows.

Depending on the APIs available in your tenant, you can create tools that:

• Look up records
• List records
• Create records
• Update records
• Perform other supported API operations.

For example, you could create a tool that looks up an employee's recognition records or updates a custom employee record.

Generate documents

Document generation tools create documents from templates managed in Applaud.

For example, you could provide tools that generate:

• Employment letters
• Confirmation letters
• Certificates
• Case correspondence
• Other documents your organization has designed.

Each document generation tool can use a different template and expose the information needed to populate it.

Who benefits from Applaud tools?

Employees and managers

Employees and managers can use Applaud tools through supported AI experiences without opening the Applaud administration interface.

They can:

• Retrieve information from Applaud.
• Complete supported requests.
• Generate documents.
• Get results without switching between applications.

The assistant shows an activity message while a tool runs. Users don't see connection credentials or other administration details.

HR and case teams

HR and case teams can use the same tools in supported case AI experiences.

This can help agents access current Applaud data or complete routine actions without leaving the case.

Administrators and Experience Designers

Administrators and Experience Designers decide which Applaud capabilities to expose.

You can:

• Use the built-in Applaud connection.
• Discover available Custom object APIs.
• Configure APIs as named tools.
• Configure document generation tools.
• Test tools before activating them.
• Attach tools to supported assistants and workflows.

Applaud tools and other connections

Use Applaud tools when the data or capability you need lives in Applaud.

Use another connection when the information or action belongs to an external system.

A single employee request may use more than one tool. For example, an assistant could retrieve employee information from Workday and use that information to populate a document generated through Applaud.

Next steps

• Agent Tools overview
• Workday tools in Applaud
• SAP SuccessFactors tools in Applaud