Understanding Vetta agents
How a Lead Scout agent finds leads from LinkedIn signals, checks them against your ICP, and runs them through its own sequence, with AI variables writing every message.
Updated October 25, 2026 · 7 min read
An agent in Vetta is a Lead Scout that does two jobs on its own: it finds new leads and it reaches out to them. It watches the signals you give it on LinkedIn, scores every person it finds against your ICP, and hands the ones that fit to its own sequence, where AI variables write each message for each lead.
This series walks through every part of an agent, in the order you will meet them:
- Setting up a Lead Scout agent: name, source, signals and ICP
- Reviewing your agent's leads: the leads table, dual score and last signal
- Working with the agent's sequence: the flow the leads go through
- Setting up AI variables: prompt, inputs and skill files
- Tuning AI messages with skill files: voice, proofs and case studies
- Previewing and regenerating messages: check the copy before it goes out
The agent view and the sequence canvas
Every sequence in Vetta is built on the sequence canvas: it is the backbone of every sequence, including the ones inside agents. An agent's sequence can work as a normal sequence, or, with the Lead Scout agent, it onboards newly scouted leads directly, with no workflow to build. To make life easier for people who are new, the agent shows its sequence in a simpler view. Behind it is the same sequence, and more proficient users can open it on the canvas and edit it there, or build new sequences on the canvas. See Agent sequence view or sequence canvas.
The Agents page
Open Agents in the Lead generation section of the sidebar. Every agent is a row with a progress ring (the share of enrolled leads it has reached) and its numbers:
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Leads | Leads found so far |
| Reached | Leads contacted, as a share of those enrolled |
| Sent | Messages sent across all channels |
| Replies | Replies, as a share of leads reached |
| Positive | Positive replies, as a share of replies |
Under each agent's name, the Scout and Sequence dots show which half is running, and the line below lists its channels, its sources and its steps. The tabs at the top filter All agents, Active, Paused and Draft; New agent starts a new one. The menu at the end of a row lets you edit, pause, run or delete the agent.
Inside an agent
Click an agent to open it. The header shows its name, two status pills (Scout and Sequence, each with its status) and a strip of key numbers: Replies, Meetings booked, Positive reply rate (replies that were interested or asked for more, as a share of all replies), Promoted to CRM (this agent's leads that are now in People), Runway (how long until every running lead has had its last step) and Health (whether its sending accounts can send right now).
Agents · OverviewThe tabs below hold everything else:
- Leads: every lead the agent has found, with its scores, the signal that surfaced it and its stage
- Analytics: lead generation, outreach and credit usage over time
- Signals: what the agent watches on LinkedIn, and your ICP
- Sequence: the flow each lead goes through, from the ICP check to the last message
- Workflows and Activity: workflows that run for the leads this agent finds, and what the agent has done
- Settings: the agent's sequence settings, including AI Message Settings, where its AI variables live
Two halves: Lead Scout and the sequence
An agent's two halves run independently:
- Lead Scout finds leads. It runs on its signals on a schedule and adds what it finds to the agent's leads. It keeps finding leads until you pause it.
- The sequence reaches out. Leads that pass the ICP check move into it and get their messages.
Activate and Deactivate in the header ask which half you mean: Lead Scout, Sequence, or Lead Scout and the Sequence. The line under the button says what the agent is doing right now, for example "Finding new leads and reaching out to them automatically." or "Paused. No new leads are being found and nothing is being sent." Pausing just the sequence is how you make changes to its messages without anything going out, while Lead Scout keeps filling the list.
Lead Scout is optional. An agent can also take its leads from a CSV you upload, from Sales Navigator with the Vetta Chrome extension, or from leads you add by hand, and its sequence works the same way. The sequence checks those leads against your ICP before writing to them, since nobody has scored them yet.
Finding leads with Lead Scout does not use credits. Credits are used by what happens to a lead afterwards, such as enrichment and AI-written messages, and each of those shows its cost in the app before it runs.
AI variables: in agents and in sequences
The messages an agent sends are written by AI variables. Each variable is a named piece of copy ({{aiMessage.first_email_body}}, for example) that the AI writes once per lead, from three things you control:
- Prompt: what to write
- Input: what the AI knows about the lead, from basic details and the signal that surfaced them to any CRM column you pick
- Skill files: your business context documents, which set the voice, the facts and the proof points
The same setup exists in every standalone sequence: open the sequence's settings and pick AI Message Settings. An agent simply shows those settings in its own Settings tab, so what you learn in Setting up AI variables applies to both. For sequences you build yourself, start with Creating your first sequence and Using personalization and messaging.
Common questions
Does a Lead Scout agent use credits to find leads?
No. Scouting does not use credits. Enrichment, AI-written messages and reply drafts do, and if you run out they pause and pick up again after a top-up or your monthly grant. See Two halves: Lead Scout and the sequence.
What happens to the leads if I delete an agent?
They stay in your CRM. Deleting an agent removes the agent and its setup, not the people it found, so you can add them to another agent or sequence. See The Agents page.
Does an agent stop on its own?
No. Lead Scout keeps looking for new leads until you pause it, and the sequence keeps working through the leads it has until you deactivate it. See Two halves: Lead Scout and the sequence.
Can I pause the outreach without stopping the lead search?
Yes. Click Deactivate in the agent's header and pick Sequence: Lead Scout keeps filling the list and nothing is sent, which is how you change messages safely. See Two halves: Lead Scout and the sequence.
When does an agent's lead show up in People?
When you promote it from the Leads page, or automatically as soon as a meeting is set. The Promoted to CRM number in the agent's header counts the leads that are now in People. See Understanding the Vetta data model.
Do I need LinkedIn signals to use an agent?
No. An agent can also take its leads from a CSV you upload, from Sales Navigator with the Vetta Chrome extension, or from leads you add by hand, and its sequence checks them against your ICP before writing to them. See Two halves: Lead Scout and the sequence.
Where do I change the messages an agent sends?
In the agent's Settings tab, under AI Message Settings, where its AI variables live with their prompt, inputs and skill files. See AI variables: in agents and in sequences.
What do the Scout and Sequence dots under an agent's name mean?
They show which half of the agent is running: Scout is the lead search and Sequence is the outreach. See The Agents page.
Key outcome
An agent turns a list of signals and an ICP into a running pipeline: it finds the people who are showing intent, drops the ones who do not fit, and writes to the rest in your voice. You stay in control of each part, from which signals it watches to how every message reads.
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