Partner agents

You can extend your AI agent’s capabilities by using partner agents that are developed by IBM-approved external partners. You can choose between two types of partner agents: partner native agents and external partner agents, each designed to support specific integration needs.

Partner native agents

You can build and use partner native agents with watsonx Orchestrate’s native tools through the Agent Development Kit (ADK). These agents integrate deeply with the platform’s runtime, security, and observability layers, giving you a seamless experience and optimized performance.

Why use partner native agents?

  • Integrate seamlessly: Take advantage of native compatibility with core platform features.
  • Boost performance: Run agents efficiently within enterprise workflows.
  • Improve observability: Monitor, debug, and analyze agent behavior using built-in tools.

For more information, see Accessing partner native agents in the catalog.

External partner agents

You can access and directly connect external partner agents from the watsonx Orchestrate catalog, where IBM-approved partners list their agents for easy integration as collaborators.

Why use external partner agents?

  • Access to trusted integrations: Choose from a growing catalog of vetted partner-built agents.
  • Save setup time: Integrate quickly without custom development.
  • Expand automation: Combine partner capabilities with your agents to handle more tasks.

For more information, see Accessing external partner agents in the catalog.

Important: You can add external partner agents only as collaborator agents. When you register an external partner agent, it is saved in your local instance and can be reused across your other agents without reconfiguration.

Purchasing partner agents

Some partner agents require a purchase before they can be used. These agents are marked with a lock icon on their tile in the agent catalog. To learn how admins can purchase and unlock partner agents, see Purchasing partner agents.