Requirements
Use this checklist to prepare what you’ll need before you start. If something isn’t ready yet, you can still sign in and begin.Account and Access
- Valid watsonx Orchestrate license
- IBM Cloud account for your company
- Permissions to create or edit product listings and submit onboarding information
Business Information and Documents
- Company legal details: official name, address, and contact information
- Required documents:
- Tax documentation (W-9, W-8, or local equivalent)
- Banking information for payouts
- Additional documents for international entities (if applicable)
- You’ll accept agreements and upload these documents in the IBM Concierge app
Product Listing Information
- Product name and description: clear, customer-friendly language
- Category or domain: helps customers discover your offering
- Support contact: email address or support URL
- Pricing model: plan details and pricing structure
Your Agent
Determine your agent type:- Native agent: runs within watsonx Orchestrate, built with the Agent Development Kit . Requires packaging and submission. See Native Agent Onboarding for details.
- External agent: hosted outside watsonx Orchestrate, connected via API. Requires service endpoint and credentials. See External Agent Onboarding for details.
For external agents: Prepare persistent test credentials for IBM QA validation. These credentials should remain valid throughout the onboarding process.
MCP Server Integration (Optional)
If your agent requires MCP (Model Context Protocol) server capabilities:- Review the MCP Server Integration guide (temporary solution)
- Prepare your JSON metadata template with agent and MCP server configuration
- Submit to IBMAgentConnect@ibm.com with subject “MCP Server Metadata - [Your Company Name]”
- IBM will build the MCP server for you during the onboarding process
- Timeline: Typically 3-5 business days for MCP server setup
Team Roles (Recommended)
- Business or Admin: handles agreements, documents, listing details, pricing, and support information
- Technical or Engineer: manages agent packaging (Native) or connection setup (External)
Setup
Follow these steps the first time you use the IBM Concierge app. You can complete them in order or split them across your team.Sign up for IBM Agent Connect
- Navigate to the IBM Agent Connect page.
- Sign up and provide your company’s information.
- Wait until you receive an email with an invitation link.
Sign in and orient yourself
- Open the invitation link you received by email.
- Sign in with your IBM credentials.
- Watch the introductory videos.
- Click the My AI products section or the Get started button to begin.
Provide your company's information
- On the Get started page, provide the legal name of your company.
- Click Save.
- Assign access to other members of your team, if needed.
- Click Let’s go to proceed.
Create AI products
- Click Create to add your AI product.
- Select your product type.
- Click Next.
- Provide a Display name and a Programmatic name. The display name is used to show your product’s name in the UI, and the programmatic name is a unique identifier used by IBM’s services and tools.
- Click Next.
- Review your product details and click Create to proceed.
- If you want to change your product’s programmatic name, you must do it before you click the Confirm button in the Product details page.
- After confirming the programmatic name, your product is sent for review and approval. Wait until the product is approved to proceed.
Create or prepare your agent
While you are waiting for approval, you can start working on your agent.An agent is the core component you’re onboarding to work with watsonx Orchestrate.Choose the appropriate guide based on your agent type:
- Native agents: Follow the Native Agent Onboarding guide to build, package, and prepare your agent using the ADK.
- External agents: Follow the External Agent Onboarding guide to prepare your service endpoint and credentials.
Provide your payment information
- After approval, go to the Payments to me section.
- Follow the instructions on the page and fill out the forms.
- Send the appropriate documentation to the provided email addresses.
- Check the I confirm that I have completed and emailed all of the required documents box and click Request approval.
- Once approved, you can continue with your product’s listing.
Create your product listing
- Navigate to My AI products → Catalog entry.
- You can add details for your product’s entry in this section.
- Go to the Support page and add information about how users can get support for your product.
- Navigate to the Brokers page and provide a broker to connect your product to the IBM Concierge app. To learn how to create and onboard a broker, see Service Broker.
- On the Pricing page, define your pricing details, and provide your Export Control Classification Number (ECCN). To learn more about pricing and how to find your ECCN, refer to Pricing and metering.
Onboard your agent
After the approval of your listing, you can proceed with the steps to onboard your agent:
- Native agents: Complete the packaging and submission steps in Native Agent Onboarding.
- External agents: Submit your agent details through the IBM Concierge webform as described in External Agent Onboarding.