Lesson 4: Adding the Wikipedia Search Skill

Now we'll give Fred the ability to search Wikipedia! The SignalWire SDK's skills system makes this incredibly easy.

Understanding Skills
Adding the Wikipedia Skill
Configuring the Skill
How Skills Work Internally
Testing Wikipedia Search

Understanding Skills

Skills are modular capabilities that extend your agent's functionality. Think of them as plugins that add specific features.

What is a Skill?

A skill is:

A self-contained module with specific functionality
Automatically integrated into your agent
Configured with simple parameters
Reusable across different agents

Available Built-in Skills

The SDK includes several pre-built skills:

wikipedia_search - Search Wikipedia articles
datetime - Get current date/time
math - Perform calculations
web_search - Search Google (requires API key)
weather_api - Get weather information

Adding the Wikipedia Skill

Let's add Wikipedia search to Fred with just one line of code!

Step 1: Basic Skill Addition

Add this to Fred's __init__ method, after the global data:

python

        # Add the Wikipedia search skill
        self.add_skill("wikipedia_search")

That's it! Fred can now search Wikipedia. But let's customize it for better results.

Step 2: Customized Configuration

Replace the basic addition with this enhanced version:

python

        # Add the Wikipedia search skill with custom configuration
        self.add_skill("wikipedia_search", {
            "num_results": 2,  # Get up to 2 articles for broader coverage
            "no_results_message": "Oh, I couldn't find anything about '{query}' on Wikipedia. Maybe try different keywords or let me know if you meant something else!",
            "swaig_fields": {
                "fillers": {
                    "en-US": [
                        "Let me look that up on Wikipedia for you...",
                        "Searching Wikipedia for that information...",
                        "One moment, checking Wikipedia...",
                        "Let me find that in the encyclopedia..."
                    ]
                }
            }
        })

Configuring the Skill

Let's understand each configuration option:

Configuration Parameters

num_results (default: 1)

Number of Wikipedia articles to return
More results = broader coverage but longer responses
Fred uses 2 for balance

no_results_message

Custom message when no articles are found
Use {query} as a placeholder for the search term
Should match your agent's personality

swaig_fields

Additional SWAIG function configuration
fillers: Phrases spoken while searching
Enhances conversation flow

Example Configurations

python

# Minimal configuration
self.add_skill("wikipedia_search")

# Academic assistant
self.add_skill("wikipedia_search", {
    "num_results": 3,
    "no_results_message": "No Wikipedia entries found for '{query}'. Please verify the spelling or try related terms."
})

# Casual helper
self.add_skill("wikipedia_search", {
    "num_results": 1,
    "no_results_message": "Hmm, Wikipedia doesn't have info on '{query}'. Got another topic?",
    "swaig_fields": {
        "fillers": {
            "en-US": ["Let me check...", "Looking that up..."]
        }
    }
})

How Skills Work Internally

Understanding the magic behind add_skill():

What Happens When You Add a Skill

Skill Loading

python

# The SDK dynamically imports the skill module
from signalwire_agents.skills.wikipedia_search.skill import WikipediaSearchSkill

Skill Initialization

python

# Creates skill instance with your configuration
skill = WikipediaSearchSkill(agent=self, params=config)

Tool Registration

python

# The skill registers its functions with your agent
self.define_tool(
    name="search_wiki",
    description="Search Wikipedia for information",
    parameters={"query": {"type": "string", "description": "Search term"}},
    handler=skill._search_wiki_handler
)

The search_wiki Function

After adding the skill, Fred gains the search_wiki function:

Function Signature:

python

search_wiki(query: string) -> string

What it does:

Searches Wikipedia for articles matching the query
Retrieves article summaries
Returns formatted results

Example calls (by the AI):

search_wiki("Albert Einstein")
search_wiki("quantum physics")
search_wiki("Great Wall of China")

Testing Wikipedia Search

Let's add some test code to verify the skill works:

Step 3: Update Main Function

python

def main():
    """Run Fred the Wiki Bot"""
    print("=" * 60)
    print("🤖 Fred - The Wikipedia Knowledge Bot")
    print("=" * 60)
    print()
    print("Fred is a friendly assistant who loves searching Wikipedia!")
    print("He can help you learn about almost any topic.")
    print()
    print("Example questions you can ask Fred:")
    print("  • 'Tell me about Albert Einstein'")
    print("  • 'What is quantum physics?'")
    print("  • 'Who was Marie Curie?'")
    print("  • 'Search for information about the solar system'")
    print()
    
    # Create Fred
    fred = FredTheWikiBot()
    
    # Show loaded skills
    loaded_skills = fred.list_skills()
    print(f"Fred's capabilities: {', '.join(loaded_skills)}")
    print()
    
    # The skill automatically adds tools to the agent
    # You can verify this by checking registered functions
    print("Wikipedia search is ready!")
    print("Fred can now search Wikipedia for any topic.")
    
if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()

Run it:

bash

python fred.py

Expected output:

============================================================
🤖 Fred - The Wikipedia Knowledge Bot
============================================================

Fred is a friendly assistant who loves searching Wikipedia!
He can help you learn about almost any topic.

Example questions you can ask Fred:
  • 'Tell me about Albert Einstein'
  • 'What is quantum physics?'
  • 'Who was Marie Curie?'
  • 'Search for information about the solar system'

Fred's capabilities: wikipedia_search
Wikipedia search is ready!
Fred can now search Wikipedia for any topic.

How Fred Uses Wikipedia Search

When a user asks Fred about a topic:

User says: "Tell me about Albert Einstein"
Fred's AI recognizes the request needs Wikipedia
Fred calls: search_wiki("Albert Einstein")
Wikipedia returns article summary
Fred responds with the information conversationally

Example Conversation Flow

User: "Hi there!"
Fred: "Hello! I'm Fred, your friendly Wikipedia assistant! I love helping people learn new things. What would you like to know about today?"

User: "Tell me about black holes"
Fred: [filler] "Let me look that up on Wikipedia for you..."
Fred: "Fascinating topic! According to Wikipedia, a black hole is a region of spacetime where gravity is so strong that nothing—no particles or even electromagnetic radiation such as light—can escape from it..."

User: "That's interesting! Who discovered them?"
Fred: [filler] "Searching Wikipedia for that information..."
Fred: "Great question! The concept of black holes has a rich history..."

Skill Benefits

Why Use Skills vs Custom Implementation?

With Skills:

python

# One line!
self.add_skill("wikipedia_search")

Without Skills:

python

# You'd need to:
# 1. Import Wikipedia API library
# 2. Handle API calls
# 3. Parse responses
# 4. Format results
# 5. Handle errors
# 6. Register SWAIG function
# 7. Implement handler
# ... 50+ lines of code

Skills Provide

Tested functionality - Pre-built and debugged
Consistent interface - Standard configuration pattern
Error handling - Graceful failure modes
Documentation - Clear usage instructions
Maintenance - Updates with SDK

Next Steps

Fred can now search Wikipedia! But let's make him more fun by adding a custom function for sharing Wikipedia facts.

➡️ Continue to Lesson 5: Creating Custom Functions

Skill Checklist:

Added wikipedia_search skill
Configured custom messages
Added search fillers
Tested skill loading

What Fred Can Do Now:

✅ Search Wikipedia for any topic
✅ Return up to 2 article summaries
✅ Handle searches with no results gracefully
✅ Provide natural conversation flow with fillers

← Previous: Basic Agent | Back to Overview | Next: Custom Functions →

Search AI Tools

tutorial-signalwire-signalwire-agents

Install this agent skill to your Project

SKILL.md

Lesson 4: Adding the Wikipedia Search Skill

Table of Contents

Understanding Skills

What is a Skill?

Available Built-in Skills

Adding the Wikipedia Skill

Step 1: Basic Skill Addition

Step 2: Customized Configuration

Configuring the Skill

Configuration Parameters

Example Configurations

How Skills Work Internally

What Happens When You Add a Skill

The search_wiki Function

Testing Wikipedia Search

Step 3: Update Main Function

How Fred Uses Wikipedia Search

Example Conversation Flow

Skill Benefits

Why Use Skills vs Custom Implementation?

Skills Provide

Next Steps