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Building an IT Helpdesk AI Agent with Persistent Memory

What you will build​

In this tutorial, you will build an IT helpdesk AI agent that assists employees with technical support issues and remembers conversations across service restarts using persistent MSSQL-backed memory.

The AI agent exposes a chat interface using ai:Listener, responds to employee questions, searches an internal knowledge base for troubleshooting guidance, and maintains conversation history using ballerinax/ai.memory.mssql.

By persisting chat history using a database-backed memory store, employees can continue conversations using the same sessionId without repeating previously shared information, even after the integration service restarts.

What you will learn​

In this tutorial, you will learn how to:

  • Create an AI agent using ai:Agent
  • Expose the agent through ai:Listener
  • Persist conversation history across service restarts using MSSQL-backed memory
  • Maintain employee-specific conversations using sessionId

Prerequisites​

Before getting started, ensure that the following requirements are met:

  • Install the WSO2 Integrator VS Code extension
  • Set up an MSSQL database for agent memory persistence
  • Have a basic understanding of memory configuration concepts. For more information, refer to Memory

Architecture​

Build the integration​

In this section, you will create the integration project and configure the AI agent for the IT helpdesk system.

Step 1: Create the integration project​

Create a new integration project by following the instructions in Create a project.

Step 2: Define the data type​

Define the following data type.

# types.bal
type KbArticle record {|
    string articleId;
    string title;
    string content;
    string category;
    string[] tags;
    float relevanceScore;
|};

Initialize the kbArticles.

final KbArticle[] & readonly kbArticles = [
    {
        articleId: "KB-101",
        title: "VPN Troubleshooting",
        content: "Restart the VPN client and reconnect.",
        category: "network",
        tags: ["vpn"],
        relevanceScore: 0.95
    }
];

Step 3: Create the AI agent​

Create the AI agent named itHelpDeskAgent by following the instructions in Creating an Agent.

Step 4: Update the system prompt​

  • Click the created agent and add the instructions.

Add instruction

Step 5: Add a tool to the agent​

Add the following tool to the agent by following the instructions in Create custom tool.

# agents.bal
@ai:AgentTool
isolated function searchKnowledgeBase(string query) returns string {

    string normalizedQuery = query.toLowerAscii();

    if normalizedQuery.includes("vpn") {
        return "VPN Troubleshooting: Restart the VPN client and reconnect.";
    }

    if normalizedQuery.includes("password") {
        return "Use the self-service password reset portal.";
    }

    return "No matching knowledge base article found.";
}

Step 6: Add persistent memory to the agent​

Add persistent memory by following the instructions in Memory.

Agent with inmemory

Step 8: Run and test the integration​

  1. Run the agent integration.

Run integration

  1. Ask a question as an employee:
curl -X POST http://localhost:9090/hthr/chat \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
        "sessionId": "EMP-1001",
        "message": "My VPN is not working"
      }'
{
  "message":"To address your VPN issue, please restart the VPN client and try reconnecting. If you have already done this, let me know for further assistance!"
}
  1. Continue the conversation using the same sessionId:
curl -X POST http://localhost:9090/hthr/chat \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
        "sessionId":"EMP-1001",
        "message":"I already restarted it"
      }'
{
  "message":"It seems I only have the information about restarting the VPN client. Since you've already done that, please consider these additional steps:

1. Check your internet connection.
2. Update the VPN client to the latest version.
3. Verify your VPN settings are correct.
4. Check firewall or antivirus settings, as they might block the VPN.

If you need more help, just let me know!"
}
  1. Continue the conversation again using the same sessionId:
curl -X POST http://localhost:9090/hthr/chat \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
        "sessionId":"EMP-1001",
        "message":"Any other suggestions?"
      }'
{
  "message":"I currently don't have any further suggestions from the knowledge base. However, you might try these:

1. Reboot your device.
2. Connect to a different server in your VPN client, if available.
3. Check for service outages on your VPN provider's status page.
4. Contact your VPN provider's support for more assistance.

Let me know if you need anything else!"
}
  1. Restart the service and reconnect using the same sessionId:
curl -X POST http://localhost:9090/hthr/chat \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
        "sessionId":"EMP-1001",
        "message":"Do you remember my issue?"
      }'
{
  "message":"Yes, your issue is that your VPN is not working, and you've already restarted the client. Would you like me to assist you with anything specific regarding that?"
}

The AI agent remembers previous conversations because the conversation history is stored in persistent MSSQL backed memory and retrieved using the same sessionId.