how to connect your ERP or CRM to an AI agent.
heysteff is an AI platform for customer support and sales across WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, Gmail and Shopify; Steff is the AI agent that runs it. This guide is for anyone on a bespoke or uncommon system (an ERP, a CRM, an inventory system) who wants the agent to answer with real data from that system — without depending on a native integration that may not exist yet.
◆ prerequisites
Admin access to your heysteff workspace, and an ERP or CRM that exposes (or can expose) an HTTP API or receives webhooks — it doesn't need to be a popular system, just one that speaks HTTP. Ideally, someone with technical knowledge of the system to define the endpoint and its parameters.
Step 1: Identify the data the agent needs
Before touching anything technical, define which questions the agent should be able to answer with data from your ERP or CRM: is this product in stock? what's the status of my order? what's this customer's purchase history? The more specific the list, the simpler the tool design in the next step.
Step 2: Expose or reuse HTTP endpoints
If your system already has an HTTP API, check whether one of its endpoints returns the data you need — often you don't have to build anything new. If it doesn't, you'll need to expose one, or use webhooks so your system tells heysteff when something changes (for example, an order moving to "shipped"). The requirement isn't "a well-known system" — heysteff connects to anything that speaks HTTP, be it an ERP, a bespoke CRM, or a spreadsheet behind a simple API.
Step 3: Create the custom tool (name, description, parameters)
Inside heysteff, create the tool with a clear name, a description of what it does and when it should be used, and the parameters it needs to receive (an order number, a customer ID). This description is what the agent reads to decide when to call it inside a real conversation — the more precise, the less likely it fires where it shouldn't.
Step 4: Test in the playground
Before leaving it live for real customers, simulate in the test environment the typical questions that should trigger the tool. Confirm the agent calls it at the right moment, that the parameters it sends are the expected ones, and that the reply it builds from that data sounds natural — not like a technical dump.
Step 5: Limit permissions and audit
Restrict what each custom tool can do to the minimum needed (for example, read stock only, not change prices), and review the workspace audit log to see when it was called, with what parameters, and what it returned. It's the same discipline of roles and permissions that applies to the rest of the workspace, extended to what the agent can touch in your external systems.
Native integrations vs. custom tools
For common ecommerce and CRM systems, heysteff already ships native integrations: Shopify, WooCommerce, TiendaNube, HubSpot and Defontana don't require this custom-tool process — they connect directly. The tool builder over HTTP API and webhooks is for everything else: your own ERP, your bespoke inventory system, or any platform without a native integration yet. The number of custom tools available depends on your plan: 3 on Starter, 10 on Pro, unlimited on Max.
FAQ
Do I need to know how to code to create a custom tool?
You need your system to already expose (or someone to be able to expose) an HTTP endpoint; configuring the tool inside heysteff itself is form-based, with no code written on the platform.
How many custom tools can I have?
It depends on the plan: 3 on Starter, 10 on Pro, unlimited on Max.
What if my system is really uncommon, almost homemade?
As long as it exposes an HTTP API or receives webhooks, it can be connected. It doesn't have to be a well-known platform.
◆ next step
Connect your ERP or CRM and let Steff answer with real data from your business.