> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.dialog.tools/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Tools Overview

> Understanding the 74+ tools and data sources your agent uses

Tools are the capabilities your agent uses to gather information, scrape content, and interact with external services. Dialog connects to 74+ tools across multiple categories, giving your agent broad reach without any configuration on your part.

## What are tools?

Tools are specialized functions your agent calls to fetch data, search sources, scrape pages, and interact with connected services. Under the hood, Dialog uses the **Model Context Protocol (MCP)** -- an open standard for connecting AI agents to data sources -- to manage these connections.

You don't need to understand MCP to use Dialog. What matters is that each tool gives your agent a specific capability. When you ask a question or give an instruction, your agent picks the right tools automatically.

## Available integrations

Dialog connects to a wide range of platforms and services:

| Category                  | Platforms                                                                                                                                       |
| ------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Research & Forums**     | Reddit, Discourse, Hacker News                                                                                                                  |
| **Web Intelligence**      | Web search, page scraping, content extraction                                                                                                   |
| **Social Media**          | Instagram, TikTok, YouTube (+ YouTube Studio), X (Twitter), Facebook (+ Pages), LinkedIn                                                        |
| **Productivity**          | Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Sheets, Google Docs, Slack, Notion, Zoom, Airtable, Calendly, Cal.com, Google Maps, Google Meet, Loops, Typeform |
| **Project Management**    | Jira, Linear, Asana, ClickUp, Monday, Trello                                                                                                    |
| **CRM & Sales**           | HubSpot, Salesforce, Gong, Attio, Apollo, Stripe                                                                                                |
| **Analytics**             | Google Analytics, Productboard, PostHog, Amplitude, Dovetail, Hex                                                                               |
| **Customer Support**      | Intercom, Zendesk, Freshdesk                                                                                                                    |
| **Business Intelligence** | Crunchbase, ZoomInfo, App Stores (Apple & Google Play)                                                                                          |
| **Design**                | Figma                                                                                                                                           |
| **Developer Tools**       | GitHub, Datadog                                                                                                                                 |
| **Other**                 | Google Drive, Granola                                                                                                                           |

<Info>
  Categories above mirror the grouping you'll see inside each agent's **Tools** settings. Delivery channels (Telegram, Slack, and soon Discord and WhatsApp) are configured separately under [Channels](/core-concepts/channels), not as tools.
</Info>

<Info>
  New integrations are added regularly. The total count currently stands at 74+ tools across these categories.
</Info>

## How tools are invoked

You don't need to tell your agent which tools to use -- it figures that out from your message.

When you send something like "What are people saying about Notion on Reddit and X?", the agent:

* **Analyzes your message** to identify the relevant platforms (Reddit, X)
* **Selects the matching tools** from its available integrations
* **Runs them in parallel** where possible to minimize wait time
* **Combines the results** into a single, unified response

This also works for non-research tasks. When you say "Save this for me: \[URL]", the agent selects web scraping tools. When you say "Put this on my calendar", it uses your connected calendar integration.

If a tool isn't enabled in your [preferences](/core-concepts/tools/tool-preferences), the agent skips it and works with what's available. You'll see exactly which tools were invoked in the activity indicators below each response.

## Connected apps

Some tools require you to authorize access through OAuth. These "connected apps" let your agent interact with your existing tools:

* Read and send emails (Gmail)
* Create and update issues (Jira, Linear)
* Post to channels (Slack)
* Manage documents (Notion, Google Docs)
* Update spreadsheets (Google Sheets)
* Schedule events (Google Calendar)

Connect apps from your account settings. Once connected, your agent can use them automatically when relevant.

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Data Sources" icon="server" href="/core-concepts/tools/mcp-servers">
    Available research data sources
  </Card>

  <Card title="Built-in Tools" icon="toolbox" href="/core-concepts/tools/built-in-tools">
    Core agent capabilities
  </Card>

  <Card title="Tool Preferences" icon="sliders" href="/core-concepts/tools/tool-preferences">
    Customizing which tools are active
  </Card>
</CardGroup>