# Build your first program in chat

> Describe a program to Willo's chat, save it, test it, turn it on and read its first run, in about ten minutes.

Last updated: October 16, 2026

Source: https://www.willo.ai/docs/agent-programs/build-your-first-program

This walks through one program from idea to first run: a weekly digest that researches a topic and leaves you a document. Every step happens in Willo's chat. There is no separate builder to open.

You need the Builder plan or higher, and to be an owner or admin of the business. Editors and viewers can see programs on the Agents tab but can't build or change them.

## 1. Describe it

Tell Willo what the program should do, when, and what it should leave you. For example:

> Every Monday at 9am, look up what's new for independent bakeries in Portland, and write me a one-page summary as a document.

Willo starts from a template when one is close, or from scratch. Either way costs the same.

## 2. Check the draft

Willo fills in the program's fields and tells you what it chose:

| Field | What it is |
| --- | --- |
| Name and description | How the program shows on the Agents tab. |
| Trigger | When a run starts: a schedule, by hand, an email or a webhook call. |
| Instructions | What each run does. Separate from Willo's own instructions. |
| Tools | What the program may use, such as web search, documents or email. A run can use only these. |
| Autonomy | Whether it works on its own or asks you first. You confirm this when you turn it on. |

Correct anything in plain words: "make it Fridays", "don't email anyone". The draft fills in on the **Agents** tab as you talk.

The draft stays open in that conversation until you save or cancel it, even if you leave and come back. One draft can be open per conversation.

## 3. Save it

Say "save it". A new program uses a few credits from the plan, taken when you save it, or when Willo applies a template if it started from one. Saving changes to a program you already have is free. Saying "cancel" throws the draft away, and charges nothing more.

A saved program is a **draft**. Nothing runs until you turn it on.

## 4. Test it

A test run is optional, and the safest way to see what the program will really do. It works on a saved draft, before you turn the program on. Say "test it", or click **Test run** on the program's page on the Agents tab.

In a test run:

- research and reads run for real;
- documents and content it would write come back as text, marked **Would have saved**, and are not saved;
- anything that would send a message or change your data is shown to you and not done.

A test run uses about as many credits as a real run. Adjust the instructions and test again until it is right.

## 5. Turn it on

Say "turn it on", or "turn it on and run it now", or click **Activate now** on the Agents tab. Willo puts a card in the chat that lists what the program could do without asking, such as sending messages or changing the business's data, and two choices:

- **Act on its own** (preselected). Runs take those steps without stopping.
- **Ask me first.** Each of those steps waits for your approval.

Click one. Willo doesn't turn the program on until you do. [Working on its own or asking first](https://www.willo.ai/docs/agent-programs/autonomy-and-approvals) explains the choice and the steps that always ask.

## 6. Read the first run

Ask "how did the last run go?". Willo reads the run itself, every step and its output. The same run is under the program's **Recent runs** on the Agents tab. See [Runs and reading a run](https://www.willo.ai/docs/agent-programs/runs).

## Schedules

A schedule runs in your time zone, which Willo takes from your browser when you signed up or from the one you are using. When it can't tell, it asks you, and won't save a schedule until you say. Name the zone when you describe the schedule to skip the question ("9am New York time").

Each plan has a shortest schedule:

| Plan | Runs at most |
| --- | --- |
| Builder | Every 6 hours |
| Growth and Scale | Every hour |

Willo tells you when a schedule is faster than the plan allows.

## Other ways to start a program

- **When an email arrives**: [Email triggers](https://www.willo.ai/docs/agent-programs/email-triggers).
- **From Zapier, Make, n8n or a form**: [Start a program from Zapier](https://www.willo.ai/docs/agent-programs/webhook-triggers#no-code-recipes) is on the webhook triggers page.
- **By hand only**: ask for a manual trigger. **Run now** starts it whenever you like, and works on every active program whatever its trigger.

## What to try next

- [Change, pause or archive a program](https://www.willo.ai/docs/agent-programs/change-pause-or-archive).
- [Connect Google and read your calendar](https://www.willo.ai/docs/connectors/connect-google-calendar) in chat. Connected accounts work in Willo's chat, not in programs.