Template automations (Search Opportunity, Interlinking, etc.) use dedicated specialist engines with a fixed, smaller tool set — not the full catalog below. See Agent templates.
How tools behave in scheduled runs
| Behavior | Detail |
|---|---|
| Auto-confirm | Mutating tools run without a second approval. Only grant tools your instructions need. |
| Site pinning | Every tool executes against the automation’s own site — you cannot cross sites in one automation. |
| Denylist | createCustomAction, updateAutomation, and runAutomationNow are hidden from the picker and blocked at run time — automations cannot spawn or trigger other automations. |
| Credit gate | Runs blocked at 0 AI credits. Pro+ plan required. |
| Connector tools | Granted explicitly from connected MCP connectors; run with auto-confirm when granted. |
Execution limits (custom automations)
| Limit | Value |
|---|---|
| Model | Claude Opus |
| Max tool steps per run | 15 |
| Max tools grantable | 30 per automation |
| Auto-confirm | On |
Tool categories
78 built-in tools appear in the Automations builder, grouped into 12 categories. Tools marked Mutating change live state.Awareness & setup
| Tool | Mutating | What it does |
|---|---|---|
getSiteSituation | Full SEO snapshot — analytics, content, setup health, autopilot, keywords, opportunities, AI visibility, latest report | |
getAccountHealth | Setup health check — GSC, IndexNow, CMS, keywords, sitemap, autopilot blockers | |
list_sites | List websites on your account | |
get_site | Details and settings for one site | |
searchSiteContent | Semantic search over articles and pages | |
proposeCustomAction | Draft a scheduled automation for review (does not save) | |
listAutomations | List automations with schedule, status, and latest run | |
getSlackStatus | Slack connection status and available notification channels |
Search analytics
All accept optionaldays lookback (1–365, default 28).
| Tool | Mutating | What it does |
|---|---|---|
get_search_overview | Clicks, impressions, position, CTR summary | |
get_search_timeseries | Day-by-day search performance | |
get_search_queries | Top search queries (optional limit 1–100) | |
get_search_pages | Top landing pages (optional limit 1–100) | |
get_search_article_performance | GSC performance for Sight AI articles |
AI visibility
| Tool | Mutating | What it does |
|---|---|---|
get_ai_visibility_summary | Brand mention rate across AI models | |
get_ai_visibility_trends | Visibility over time | |
get_ai_visibility_mentions | Where and how you’re mentioned | |
get_ai_visibility_citations | Pages AI assistants cite | |
get_ai_visibility_competitors | Visibility vs tracked competitors | |
listTrackedPrompts | Monitored AI prompts | |
createTrackedPrompt | Yes | Add a prompt to monitoring |
setTrackedPromptActive | Yes | Activate or pause a tracked prompt |
Opportunities
| Tool | Mutating | What it does |
|---|---|---|
list_opportunities | Content opportunities from search and AI data | |
get_opportunities_readiness | Whether enough data exists for reliable suggestions |
Content & articles
| Tool | Mutating | What it does |
|---|---|---|
list_articles | List articles by status | |
get_article | Full article — title, body, SEO, status | |
get_article_limits | Monthly article quota and usage | |
generate_article | Yes | Generate a new SEO article (async — poll until ready) |
update_article | Yes | Edit title, body, SEO fields, slug |
refresh_seo_title | Yes | AI-rewrite SEO title only |
refresh_seo_meta | Yes | AI-rewrite meta description only |
create_draft_article | Yes | Create empty draft for manual writing |
edit_article_section | Yes | Surgical body edit — append, replace section, or rewrite intro |
generate_article_image | Yes | AI-generate cover image |
set_article_main_image | Yes | Set or clear hero image |
recommend_article_types | Suggest listicle, guide, or explainer per keyword | |
recommend_article_category | Suggest CMS category | |
list_article_authors | CMS authors for byline assignment | |
create_article_batch | Yes | Queue 1–100 articles through generation |
project_interlinks | Forecast internal links an interlinking run would add | |
sync_article | Yes | Publish ready article to connected CMS |
get_article_sync_status | Per-platform sync status | |
get_cms_status | Active CMS integration status | |
list_integrations | Connected CMS and platform integrations |
Keywords
| Tool | Mutating | What it does |
|---|---|---|
list_keywords | Tracked keywords with pipeline status | |
get_keyword | Single keyword lookup | |
get_keywords_summary | Dashboard totals and recommendations | |
add_keywords | Yes | Add keywords (deduped automatically) |
manage_keywords | Yes | Unified keyword operations — list, get, summary, add, list groups |
all, no_article, ready, synced, scheduled, generating, failed, published
Source filters: all, user, ai, import, autopilot
Autopilot & planner
| Tool | Mutating | What it does |
|---|---|---|
setAutopilot | Yes | Turn Autopilot on/off, set articles/day, keyword sourcing |
schedule_article | Yes | Queue ready articles for future CMS publish |
manage_planner | Yes | Planner settings, scheduled queue, generation plan |
manage_planner actions: get_settings, update_settings, list_scheduled, update_scheduled, remove_scheduled, clear_scheduled, list_generation, clear_generation, plan_generation, get_autopilot
Indexing
| Tool | Mutating | What it does |
|---|---|---|
submit_sitemap_gsc | Yes | Submit sitemap to Google Search Console |
get_gsc_status | GSC connection status | |
submit_article_indexnow | Yes | Ping IndexNow for a published URL |
get_indexnow_status | IndexNow setup status | |
forceReindexSite | Yes | Re-crawl sitemap and resubmit all URLs |
SEO report & agents
| Tool | Mutating | What it does |
|---|---|---|
getSeoReport | Latest Site Performance report | |
runSeoAudit | Yes | Trigger a fresh Site Performance audit |
list_agents | Agent configurations for the site | |
list_agent_runs | Recent agent run history | |
update_agent | Yes | Toggle active, adjust budget, schedule, threshold |
run_agent | Yes | Trigger an on-demand specialist agent run |
article_creation, ai_prompt, article_boost, interlinking, site_performance, outreach
Inbox (Outreach — Advanced plan)
| Tool | Mutating | What it does |
|---|---|---|
list_inbox | Outreach conversations with previews | |
read_message | Full thread with context | |
get_inbox_unread_count | Unread message count | |
mark_conversation_read | Mark inbound messages as read | |
reply_to_message | Yes | Send a human-written reply |
update_conversation_status | Yes | Resolve, decline, reopen, pause, or resume AI |
take_over_conversation | Yes | Hand thread to Outreach Agent for a draft reply |
Research
| Tool | Mutating | What it does |
|---|---|---|
webSearch | Web search with sourced summary | |
webFetch | Fetch and extract text from a public URL | |
fetch_url_content | Crawl a URL — title, headings, body | |
getDomainRating | Ahrefs Domain Rating (free API — no connector required) |
Memory
| Tool | Mutating | What it does |
|---|---|---|
remember | Save durable memory (scope: site or scope: user) | |
forgetMemory | Remove a stale memory entry |
Chat-only tools
These work in Agent chat but are not available in scheduled automations:| Tool | Purpose |
|---|---|
createCustomAction | Create a new automation (requires user confirmation) |
updateAutomation | Edit an existing automation |
runAutomationNow | Trigger a manual run |
MCP connector tools
Teams with MCP connectors connected see an additional tool group per provider in the picker:| Provider | Tool name prefix | Default permission |
|---|---|---|
| Ahrefs | ahrefs_* | Always allow |
| Semrush | semrush_* | Always allow |
| Cometly | cometly_* | Always allow |
| Custom | {slug}_* | Ask first (in chat) |
Template-only tools
Specialist template automations use internal engines with a constrained tool set. These tools are not in the custom automation picker:| Category | Examples |
|---|---|
| Opportunities | findPendingOpportunities, acceptOpportunity, rejectOpportunity |
| Articles | dispatchArticle, refreshArticle, enqueueCmsSync |
| Internal linking | findAnchorCandidates, insertAnchor, insertLinkSentence |
| Site health | runLighthouseAudit, createSiteIssueReport |
| Outreach | lookupContactEmail, generateOutreachEmail, sendOutreachEmail |
Example recipes
Weekly SEO digest
Instructions: Pull search overview and AI visibility summary. List top 5 queries gaining impressions and top 3 AI prompts where we’re not mentioned. Summarize in 3 bullets. Tools:get_search_overview, get_search_timeseries, get_search_queries, get_ai_visibility_summary, listTrackedPrompts
Keyword gap filler
Instructions: List keywords with statusno_article. Generate articles for up to 2 highest-priority terms. Do not sync to CMS.
Tools: list_keywords, get_article_limits, recommend_article_types, generate_article
Monday health check
Instructions: RungetAccountHealth and getSiteSituation. If any blocker is critical, summarize it. Otherwise post a one-paragraph all-clear.
Tools: getAccountHealth, getSiteSituation, get_search_queries, getSlackStatus
Enable Slack notifications on the automation for delivery.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Likely cause |
|---|---|
| Tool not in picker | Chat-only tool, connector not connected, or tool set to Don’t allow |
| ”No valid tools configured” | Stored tools reference removed or renamed names — re-edit and re-select |
| Mutating tool did nothing | Instructions didn’t call it, or credits/plan gate blocked the run |
| Hit 15-step limit | Split work across automations or reduce scope in instructions |
| Connector tool fails | Connector disconnected, expired credentials, or permission set to Don’t allow |
Related
- Custom automations — create and configure tool-based workflows
- MCP connectors — Ahrefs, Semrush, Cometly, custom
- Agent templates — specialist engines with fixed tool sets
- Monitoring & troubleshooting — audit runs and debug failures