AI agent and chat blocks
The surfaces an AI product works through: an assistant thread that shows its research, agents that run work and stop to ask, the tools and sources behind an answer, and workflows people build and watch. The model behind them stays yours.
4 families, 41 blocks#
- AI Chat7 blocksAssistants, copilots and writing help inside a product
- Agents18 blocksProducts where AI agents run work for people and someone has to stay in charge
- AI tools14 blocksThe working parts of an AI feature: what it read, what it called, what it cost and what it remembers
- Workflow canvas2 blocksAutomations people build by joining steps and apps, then run and watch
What these are for#
An AI chat block is the interface between a person and a model: the composer they type or speak into, the reply that comes back, and the actions around it. Orvain's AI blocks cover the assistant thread, the assistant with voice, the assistant home screen, the prompt library, and rewriting a selection from a card, from a toolbar, or in place.
An assistant is an editor with a second author, and the states are what make it trustworthy. Each block carries them: a thinking state that says what it is doing, a reply that streams so the wait reads as work, numbered sources beside every claim, and a rewrite that is shown before it replaces anything a person wrote.
Agents need more than a thread. The Agents family covers a run as it happens, with each step, the app it touches and the approval it waits on, plus plans, checkpoints, parallel attempts, fleets, queues, traces and an inbox for what needs a person. The AI tools family covers the parts around a single answer: web search, tool calls, a code review, file parsing, image generation, context, memory and cost. The Workflow canvas covers automations people draw themselves and then run.
The blocks are the surface, not the model. They take a stream of text and a list of sources from whatever you run, an API, an agent framework or your own server, so switching providers never means rebuilding the interface. With the Orvain MCP connected, an AI coding tool can build any of them into your product from one line.
Choosing between them#
A full assistant thread or rewrite on a selection?
Use a thread when people come to ask questions: the assistant answers from your content and shows where each answer came from. Use rewrite on a selection when people are already writing and want help with a sentence they chose. Rewriting is lighter, stays inside the text, and never takes the page away from the person writing it.
An assistant, an agent, or a workflow?
Use an assistant thread when a person asks and reads the answer. Use the agent blocks when the model takes several steps on its own in other apps and someone has to see what it is doing and approve the risky parts. Use a workflow canvas when the steps are known ahead of time and a person designs them, so each run follows the drawing rather than the model's judgement.
When is a voice mode worth adding?
When people use the product away from a keyboard, on a phone, while doing something else, or for long questions that are quicker to say than to type. The voice block keeps the transcript on screen as it listens, so a misheard word can be fixed before it is sent rather than after the answer comes back.
Questions#
Which AI models do the chat blocks work with?
Any. The blocks render a reply as it streams, its numbered sources and the actions under it; they do not call a model themselves. Connect them to OpenAI, Anthropic, an open-source model or your own agent, and swap providers later without touching the interface.
How do the agent blocks handle approvals?
Every block that can act puts the approval in the row of the step that needs it, with the exact action it will take, such as the command, the amount or the message. Allow and decline sit together, the run holds until one is chosen, and the decision stays on the step afterwards so the run explains itself later.
Do the AI chat blocks stream replies?
Yes. A reply appears as it arrives, with a thinking state before the first words that says what the assistant is doing, so the wait reads as work. Sources appear as numbered marks beside the claims they support, and the reply actions (copy, retry, rate) appear once it is complete.