# AI agents

An AI agent that edits posts through the API has no browser tab, so it never checks in. Instead, each time it saves a post, Presence API shows it working on that post for the next 75 seconds.

![An agent saves a post, and Active Posts lists Writing Assistant (agent) while its row counts down below.](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/WordPress/presence-api/main/docs/media/ai-agents.mp4)

## How it works

```mermaid
sequenceDiagram
	accTitle: An agent's save writes its row
	accDescr: An agent saves a post. On wp_after_insert_post, if the current user is an agent, the plugin writes agent-{id} in the post's room, expiring after 75 seconds. Admin screens show the agent with a label until the row expires.
	participant A as Agent
	participant S as WordPress
	participant T as wp_presence
	A->>S: Save post 42
	S->>S: wp_after_insert_post, is the user an agent?
	S->>T: Write agent-{id} in postType/post:42, expires in 75 s
	Note over T: Admin screens show the agent, labelled,<br/>until the row expires
```

- `wp_presence_is_agent_user( $user_id )` decides who is an agent. It is a filter, `false` by default, and the plugin answers it with `wpai_is_agent_user()` when that function exists.
- A save by a person writes nothing. Neither does saving an auto-draft or trashing a post.
- The admin bar and Active Posts label the agent, and the Editors column names it in its avatar's tooltip. The editor count behind `wp_presence_collaboration_started` leaves it out.
- To appear before its first save, or to stay present between saves, an agent writes its own row with a short `expires_in` and renews it. See [Agents](https://github.com/WordPress/presence-api#agents) in the README.

<sub>Source: [`presence.php`](https://github.com/WordPress/presence-api/blob/main/plugins/presence-api/includes/presence.php)</sub>

## Check your understanding

<details>
<summary>An agent saves a post once and stops. How long does it appear on that post?</summary>

75 seconds, until its `agent-` row expires.

</details>