Automate Your Work with Notion's New "Custom Agents" Feature! A Comprehensive Guide

Mar 20, 2026

Notion's new "AI Custom Agent" feature, announced last year, has finally been released!

Custom Agents go beyond the traditional chat-based Notion AI, becoming autonomous.

Here, we'll clearly explain Custom Agent features, practical usage, and application methods.

1. What is a "Custom Agent"?

A Custom Agent is an AI that automatically executes tasks based on pre-set triggers.

Until now, Notion AI was a chat-based system, similar to ChatGPT or Gemini, where you manually entered instructions (prompts).

With Custom Agents, you can create a system where, for example, tasks are automatically added when meeting minutes are created, without needing to instruct "extract To-Dos from these minutes."

They can operate automatically 24/7, even while you're sleeping or working on other tasks.

2. Features of Custom Agents

Custom Agents differ significantly from regular Notion AI in two key ways:

1. Create Custom Agents for each specific purpose

Custom Agents excel at operating for a single purpose.

The idea is to create individual, dedicated agents for each purpose or trigger, such as:

Drafting emails
Generating weekly reports

2. Set "Triggers" and "Actions"

Custom Agents can only operate by combining when they should act (trigger) and what they should do (action).

For example, if you want a weekly report, you would set the trigger and action like this:

Trigger: Every Sunday at 9 AM
Action: Compile news from competitor companies and create a weekly report

3. What Custom Agents Can Do

The "triggers" and "actions" required to operate Custom Agents include the following, and can be freely combined:

⚡Configurable Triggers

・Fixed times, such as daily at a specific hour or every Monday
・When a page is created
・When a page is updated
・When the agent is @mentioned

✅Configurable Actions

・Extract information (from Web, Notion, or integrated services like Slack or Gmail)
・Format (summarize, create lists, etc.)
・Categorize (tagging, categorization)
・Create/edit pages in Notion
・Aggregate (create reports, summarize)
・Send to Slack
・Draft emails in Gmail
・Register events in Google Calendar

The "when a page is updated" trigger also includes property changes, so you can use properties as triggers, such as "when the status changes to reviewing."

4. Use Cases for Custom Agents

By using these triggers and actions, Custom Agents can be utilized in scenarios such as these:

📩 Automated Email Drafting

When a new Gmail is received, automatically read past exchanges and the entire thread, formulate a reply, and save it as a draft.

📋 Automated Task and Schedule Notifications

Every morning at 9 AM, organize today's remaining Notion tasks and Google Calendar events, then send a notification to Slack.

📰 Summarizing the Latest News on Gadgets and Apps

Instruct the agent on the desired genre and websites, then generate a report summarizing the previous week's news every Monday.

📝 Meeting Minutes Summary and Sharing

When a new meeting minutes page is added in Notion, automatically summarize its content and send it to the team's Slack.

There are many other ways to use them, so if you think, "Ah, I can automate this," please consult a Custom Agent.

5. How to Create a Custom Agent

Let's create a Custom Agent right away.

Step 1: Create a Custom Agent

Click the "+" button next to "Agents" in the Notion sidebar.

If you want the AI to create it, tell it what kind of Custom Agent you want; if you want to set it up yourself, choose "Create a blank agent."

Step 2: Configure the Custom Agent

The Custom Agent interface is divided into an AI chat screen (left) and a settings screen (right).

If you communicate the desired Custom Agent in the chat on the left, the AI will automatically create the triggers and steps on the right.

If you prefer to do everything yourself, you can manually configure each setting on the right-hand screen.

Step 3: Confirm Triggers, Instructions, and Permissions

Review the steps created by the AI on the right-hand settings screen and make any necessary corrections either through chat instructions or manually.

Is the trigger set?
Are the instructions correct?
Are the necessary permissions added?

Always check these three points. Permissions can be set under "Tools & Access" below the instructions.

💡About Custom Agent Permissions

For a Custom Agent to read databases, edit pages, or send emails or Slack messages, it needs the same permissions as a user.

Add necessary database, Gmail, or other permissions from "Add a page" or "Add a connection" under "Tools & Access."

Step 4: Save the Custom Agent

Click the save icon in the upper right to complete your Custom Agent.

You can test if it functions correctly by saying "Run now" in the chat window on the left, which will execute it immediately.

Step 5: Run the Custom Agent

After this, the Custom Agent will run automatically based on the triggers you've set.

When a Custom Agent starts running, a chat screen like this is automatically created.

You can also proceed with tasks while chatting in this window, for example, by saying "write a reply like this."

6. Pricing for Custom Agents

While Custom Agents are currently available for free, they will transition to a credit-based system starting May 4, 2026.

💰️ Pricing: 10$ (approx. 1,500 yen) for 1,000 credits

Credits are consumed each time an agent runs, based on the complexity of the task.

Simple research or page creation might cost around 30-50 credits per run, but tasks involving multiple external tools like Gmail or Slack, or extensive web research, can consume significantly more credits.

📝 Operations that tend to consume more credits

・Reading large amounts of information (e.g., many database pages, numerous websites)
・Involving multiple tools (e.g., Notion + Slack + Gmail)
・Having many steps (e.g., classify → prioritize → create → notify)
・High execution frequency
・Choosing advanced models

It's a good idea to try it during the free period to understand how many credits various tasks consume.