Discovering the catalog

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The Discover page is your catalog for finding and evaluating prebuilt agents, MCP servers, tools, and apps that you can use to automate work in IBM watsonx Orchestrate. From here, you can search, filter, and browse available assets, then use the selections directly in Orchestrate Chat to complete tasks.

Catalog overview

The watsonx Orchestrate catalog helps you quickly find the agents, tools, and apps you can use to get your work done.

Agents

Agents are ready-to-use AI solutions that are designed for specific tasks and domains. They help streamline workflows and can be deployed quickly without custom development. See Prebuilt agents for more details.

MCP servers

MCP servers connect agents to external tools and services. They provide tools that agents use to perform actions beyond their built-in capabilities. The catalog lists MCP servers alongside agents and tools so you can find and evaluate integrations in one place. MCP servers are available as remote integrations and appear as Preview. See Exploring MCP servers for more details.

Tools

IBM watsonx Orchestrate offers various tools that you can use to complete tasks and also use in skill flows across different domain use cases. These tools serve as alternatives to skills, offering direct integration with backend applications for improved performance. See Prebuilt tools for more details.

Apps

You can access various third-party applications on the watsonx Orchestrate catalog. Each app is supported by corresponding agents and tools that enable intelligent automation across domains. Whether it's customer support, IT operations, or HR services, these apps offer a unified interface for users to interact efficiently. See Apps for more details.

Using the catalog

  1. From the main menu, select Discover to view the catalog.

  2. Use the Search bar at the top to find quickly find relevant items. Enter a keyword or a natural language query and review the matching results. Search helps you narrow down options without browsing each section.

  3. Select an item from the results to open its details page. Review its description and supported capabilities before deciding to use it.

Narrow results with filters

To narrow down your search and find the most relevant resources, use the following filters:

  1. Type: Show agents, tools, MCP servers, or all items.

  2. Categories: Select a domain (for example, HR, procurement, productivity, sales) to focus on relevant agents and tools.

  3. Apps: Limit results to items compatible with a specific application (for example, Salesforce or Workday).

You can use the search bar to find agents, tools or MCP servers by name or description. You can also use the Sort by option to organize the list alphabetically (A–Z or Z–A) or by recently added.

Worked examples

Table 1. Examples

Example

Filter options

Finding an HR onboarding agent

Filter by Type: Agents and Category: HR, then open the agent details to check its required tools and app connections.

Finding Salesforce‑ready automations

Filter by Apps: Salesforce, and if needed, set Type: Tools to view the available Salesforce‑compatible actions.

Using tags to evaluate

Each agent or tool tile includes tags that help you quickly understand and compare options in the catalog.

  • Source tag (for example, By: IBM) identifies the provider of the agent or tool.
  • Category tags (for example, Productivity, Security, IT) describe the domain or use case.
  • Additional tag count (for example, +2) indicates that more tags are associated with it. Open the agent, or tool to view all tags.

Tags appear consistently across agents and tools. Use them to assess relevance and choose what to explore next.

Evaluate items before use

Before selecting an agent, tool, or MCP server, review the following details to ensure it meets your requirements:

  • Capabilities: Confirm that the item supports the task you want to perform.

  • Dependencies: Check whether the item requires specific tools, apps, or integrations.

  • App compatibility: Verify that it works with the applications you use (for example, Salesforce or Workday).

  • Tags and categories: Use tags to quickly assess relevance and domain alignment.

Using agents and tools

After identifying the right agent or tool, you can run it directly from the Orchestrate Chat interface:

  1. From the main menu, click Chat.

  2. From the Agents dropdown, select the agent you discovered.

  3. Describe your task in natural language and send your message. The agent responds based on its configured capabilities and workflows.

For more guidance, see Using agents in Orchestrate Chat.

What to do next

Explore more about prebuilt resources:

Learn more:

Want to build your own agent? Explore resources for creating custom agents:

Learn more: