Charters

What Are Charters?

Charters are how teams tell a Maven agent what to do in a specific moment. Each Charter describes a situation, the behavior the agent should follow in that situation, and the knowledge and actions it is allowed to use. As a conversation changes, Maven selects the Charter that matches, so a single agent can handle support, sales, onboarding, and retention conversations with the right playbook for each.

How Charters Work

• Segment (when it applies): A Segment defines which users or conversations the Charter covers, such as premium accounts or customers asking to cancel.
• Manual (how to behave): A Manual holds the natural-language instructions the agent follows when the Charter matches.
• References (what it can use): The specific knowledge and Actions the agent may draw on. The agent can only use resources attached to the matching Charter path.
• A tree, not a list: Charters are organized in a hierarchy. A child Charter applies only when its parents match, and instructions combine from the top down, so broad rules and specific exceptions live together cleanly.
• Foundational Charters: A Charter with no Segment applies to every conversation, which is useful for brand voice and always-on rules.

Why Charters Matter

Enterprises need AI agents that adapt to context without improvising outside policy. Charters provide that balance. The agent still reasons about each conversation, but the platform decides in advance which instructions, data, and actions are in scope. This is a core part of Agentic Determinism.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are Charters the same as scripts or decision trees?

No. Scripts dictate exact paths. Charters define the situation, the goal, and the limits, and the agent reasons within them.

How do I get started with Charters?

Most teams begin with Charter Templates, which pre-fill common Charters like brand foundations and escalation handling.