How should you write tool descriptions for reliable agent tool selection?

medium

Answer

$\mathrm{search}_{\mathrm{customer}}\mathrm{orders}$
$(2) Rich description: what the tool does, when to use it, what to NOT use it for.$
$(3) Full argument schema with descriptions per field.$
$(4) Example calls in the description when the signature is subtle.$
$(5) Constraints: 'this tool is idempotent', 'costs $0.05 per call'.$
$(6) Fewer tools > many tools: 5-10 well-scoped is better than 30 overlapping ones.$
$Prompt-engineering the tool description is often more impactful than fine-tuning.$

Check yourself — multiple choice

Vague short names
Descriptive names + rich when-to-use description + argument schema + examples + constraints; keep tool set small and non-overlapping
Random naming
Same for all tools

Tool descriptions: names / when-to-use / schema / examples / constraints; small non-overlapping set.

#agents#tools#prompting

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