About App Tools Extensions

The App Tools extension lets your app expose tools that Aria can discover and use during conversations with Wix users in the site dashboard.

A tool is a method in your app that performs an action. You give each tool a methodName so Aria can identify which method to call. You can expose tools for any functionality your app can perform such as retrieving data, running workflows, completing actions in your app, and using 3rd-party APIs and services.

Use cases

App Tools are useful when you want Aria to perform actions or retrieve data through your app on behalf of Wix users. For example:

• Track packages using a 3rd-party shipping service.
• Create or retrieve an invoice through a 3rd-party invoicing service, such as QuickBooks.
• Check inventory or place a fulfillment order with a dropshipping provider your app uses.

Extensions configuration

App Tools requires you to create and configure the following extensions:

Extension	What it does
App Tools	Declares the tools your app exposes. Aria reads these declarations to discover what your app can do and decide when to call each tool.
Tools Provider service plugin	The runtime handler Wix calls when Aria invokes a tool. Receives the tool name and input data, runs your logic, and returns a result to Aria.

How Aria interacts with your app

Once the app is installed on a site, when a Wix user chats with Aria in the site dashboard:

1. Aria searches for relevant tools to help with the request.
2. Aria uses the tool's requestSchema to ask the Wix user for any information it needs before calling, such as a tracking number or ID.
3. Once the Wix user provides that information, Wix calls your service plugin with the required information.
4. Your app runs the specified tool and returns the result to Aria.
5. Aria uses the result to give the Wix user an informed response in natural language.

For examples of how App Tools interacts with the Tools Provider, see the sample flows in the reference.

Effective tool descriptions

Aria compares the Wix user's request against each tool's description to decide which tool to call. A vague description reduces the chance that Aria selects the right tool at the right time.

To write effective descriptions include the following:

1. What the tool does: The action it performs and the data it returns.
2. When to use it: The Wix user intents or phrases that should trigger it.
3. What it needs: Any required inputs.

Implementation options

You can implement App Tools extensions using:

• Wix CLI: recommended for Wix-managed apps. The CLI scaffolds both extensions and registers them in your project automatically.
• App dashboard: For self-managed apps, configure both extensions in the app dashboard and implement the runTool handler on your own deployment.

See also

• Add App Tools extensions with the CLI
• App Tools extension files and code
• About the Tools Provider Service Plugin
• Sample Flows
• About Service Plugin Extensions