diff --git a/src/agents/agent.py b/src/agents/agent.py
index 61c0a8966..2416beb44 100644
--- a/src/agents/agent.py
+++ b/src/agents/agent.py
@@ -2,9 +2,9 @@
 
 import dataclasses
 import inspect
-from collections.abc import Awaitable
+from collections.abc import Awaitable, Iterable
 from dataclasses import dataclass, field
-from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Any, Callable, Generic, cast
+from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Any, Callable, Generic, cast, get_args
 
 from . import _utils
 from ._utils import MaybeAwaitable
@@ -157,3 +157,65 @@ async def get_system_prompt(self, run_context: RunContextWrapper[TContext]) -> s
             logger.error(f"Instructions must be a string or a function, got {self.instructions}")
 
         return None
+
+    def _add_item(
+        self, item: Any, attr_name: str, expected_type: type | tuple[type, ...]
+    ) -> None:
+        """
+        Generic method to add an item to a specified list attribute.
+        Checks if the item is of the expected type and prevents duplicates.
+        """
+        if not isinstance(item, expected_type):
+            raise TypeError(f"Expected {expected_type}, got {type(item)}")
+        attr_list = getattr(self, attr_name)
+        if item.name not in [existing.name for existing in attr_list]:
+            attr_list.append(item)
+        else:
+            logger.warning(
+                f"Item {item.name} already exists in {attr_name}. "
+                "Skipping addition to avoid duplicates."
+            )
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def _ensure_iterable(item: Any) -> Iterable[Any]:
+        """
+        Ensures the provided item is iterable.
+        Strings and bytes are treated as non-iterable for our purposes.
+        """
+        if isinstance(item, (str, bytes)):
+            return [item]
+        try:
+            iter(item)
+            return cast(Iterable[Any], item)
+        except TypeError:
+            return [item]
+
+    def add_tools(self, tool: Tool | Iterable[Tool]) -> None:
+        """Add one or multiple tools to the agent's tool list."""
+        expected_types = get_args(Tool)
+        for t in self._ensure_iterable(tool):
+            self._add_item(t, "tools", expected_types)
+
+    def add_handoffs(
+        self,
+        handoff: Agent[Any] | Handoff[TContext] | Iterable[Agent[Any] | Handoff[TContext]],
+    ) -> None:
+        """Add one or multiple handoffs to the agent's handoff list."""
+        for h in self._ensure_iterable(handoff):
+            self._add_item(h, "handoffs", (Agent, Handoff))
+
+    def add_input_guardrails(
+        self,
+        guardrail: InputGuardrail[TContext] | Iterable[InputGuardrail[TContext]],
+    ) -> None:
+        """Add one or multiple input guardrails to the agent's input guardrail list."""
+        for g in self._ensure_iterable(guardrail):
+            self._add_item(g, "input_guardrails", InputGuardrail)
+
+    def add_output_guardrails(
+        self,
+        guardrail: OutputGuardrail[TContext] | Iterable[OutputGuardrail[TContext]],
+    ) -> None:
+        """Add one or multiple output guardrails to the agent's output guardrail list."""
+        for g in self._ensure_iterable(guardrail):
+            self._add_item(g, "output_guardrails", OutputGuardrail)