AI, agents and agentic: start here
This section is for two groups of readers. The first uses AI with Exponential: editors, site managers and administrators who want help writing, rewriting and translating content, and who need to know where that content goes. The second builds against Exponential: developers and application creators who connect an AI agent to an installation, or who run agentic workflows that read and change content on their own. Both groups need the same foundation: an honest picture of what ships, what it does, and what it will not do.
Note
Every statement in this section was checked against the code, the settings and the documentation of the parts it
describes: the extension expai (Exponential Intelligence), the kernel, the extension expservices and the
documentation in doc/eng-us/. Where something could not be verified, the page says less rather than more. Model
names, prices and provider terms change; the settings of your installation are the authority.
Contents
- Exponential and AI in one minute
- Who this section is for
- Five rules that hold everywhere
- Every part of this section
- A first hour
- Other sections you will use
Exponential and AI in one minute
| You want to | Use | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Write, rewrite, shorten or translate content with an AI model, in the administration | Exponential Intelligence (the extension expai) | Required by composer.json of the root repository, so it is in extension/expai of every installation; a new installation activates it for the administration siteaccesses |
| Let a program or an agent read and create content over HTTP | The REST API (/api/ezp/v1, /api/ezp/v2) with an OAuth2 token or a personal API key | The kernel |
| Let a program drive administration functions by name | expservices over the ezjscore call interface, with a personal token | The extension expservices, part of the default distribution |
| Answer small JSON requests from your own pages | ezjscore server functions | The extension ezjscore |
| Know what an agent or the assistant did | The audit trail | The kernel |
| Give an agent the documentation as plain text | The help system and ./console exp:help search / show | The kernel |
Details and the exact status of each part: What exists today.
Who this section is for
| You are | Start with |
|---|---|
| An editor who wants to know what the AI writing assistant does with your text | What Exponential Intelligence does |
| An administrator deciding whether to switch the assistant on, and with which provider | Before switching on Exponential Intelligence |
| A data protection officer or a manager who must answer "where does our content go?" | Privacy and data leaving the site |
| A developer who wants a coding agent to work from facts on a project | Coding agents on an Exponential project |
| An application creator building an agent that reads or writes content | Choosing an interface for an agent |
| Someone writing an internal policy on AI use | An AI use policy for your organization |
Not sure which part fits? Which path fits your task asks a few questions.
Five rules that hold everywhere
These rules are built into the software, not just recommended. Each page of this section builds on them.
- The assistant writes drafts, never publications. Exponential Intelligence has no setting to publish on its own; publishing happens only when an editor presses "Send for approval", through the normal publish operation, so approval workflows apply (Drafts and human review).
- Everything runs as a real account with its own permissions. The assistant acts as the signed-in editor; REST and expservices act as the owner of the token or key. None of them has a permission model of its own (Roles and least privilege).
- Narrow credentials. API keys carry scopes, tokens carry lifetimes, and none of them gives more than its owner holds (Credentials for agents).
- Content is data, not instructions. The assistant's instructions and tool descriptions say so to the model, and after outside text from the web enters a conversation the assistant writes no draft while that text is in the conversation (Untrusted data and prompt injection).
- Keys never leave the server. Provider keys live in
settings/overrideonly and never reach the browser, a log or a template (Configuring a provider).
Every part of this section
| Part | What it answers |
|---|---|
| Exponential Intelligence | What the writing assistant does and does not do, providers and models, local models, translation, alt text, Vector, chains, web and service tools, the dashboard, permissions, the master switch, extending it |
| Agentic workflows | Choosing an interface, agents on REST and expservices, credentials, documentation for agents, prompt injection, keeping a person in the loop, worked workflows, coding agents on a project |
| Governance | Privacy and data leaving the site, cost control, the audit trail, roles and least privilege, an AI use policy, incident response |
| Checklists | Before switching on the assistant, before connecting an agent, reviewing AI drafts |
Short answers are in the FAQ, the words in the glossary, and the order of reading in the reading path. What AI in Exponential does not do lists the limits in one place.
A first hour
| Minutes | Do | Read |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | Learn what is there and what is not | What exists today, What AI in Exponential does not do |
| 15 | Pick your path | Which path fits your task |
| 20 | Read the two or three pages of your path | the section README of your path |
| 15 | Go through the matching checklist | Checklists |
Other sections you will use
| Section | For |
|---|---|
| Application creators | Building extensions and integrations, including Exponential Intelligence for applications and Extending Exponential Intelligence |
| Trainers: Exponential Intelligence course | Teaching editors and administrators to use the assistant |
| Advocates: talking points | Describing the assistant accurately in public |
| Businesses | Decision makers who weigh cost and risk |
Related pages
- What exists today
- AI, agents and agentic: reading path
- AI, agents and agentic: FAQ
- expai: Exponential Intelligence
- The help system
- Free documentation: this page is free to copy, translate and improve under the GNU FDL 1.3.
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