Creartful AIInsightsAgents or workflows
AI agents or workflows: which does your task need.
“Agent” has become the word for anything with AI in it. The useful question is narrower: does your task need a model that decides its own next step, or a fixed set of steps that a model helps with? Here is how to tell.
Two different things.
Anthropic, which makes Claude, draws a clear line in its guide to building agents. Workflows are systems where a model and tools follow code paths written in advance. Agents are systems where the model directs its own process and tool use, deciding how to get the task done.
Workflow
Known steps. Read the new products, draft descriptions, send them for review. The order never changes.
Agent
Chosen steps. Given a goal and tools, the model decides what to read and do next, and when it is finished.
Both
Same building blocks. A model, tools it can call, your data and rules, and a person who checks the result.
Start with the simplest thing that works.
The same guide recommends finding the simplest solution possible and adding complexity only when it is needed. Agents trade cost and predictability for flexibility, so they earn their place only when the task genuinely varies from case to case.
- If you can write the steps down in advance, it is a workflow
- If each case needs judgement about what to look at next, it may be an agent
- If a mistake would reach a customer, either way needs a person to approve it
Examples from marketing work.
Most repeat marketing tasks are workflows in disguise. A few are not.
- Workflow: drafting product descriptions for every new item, then sending them for review
- Workflow: a weekly report that pulls the same numbers from the same sources
- Agent: answering customer questions where each one needs a different lookup
- Agent: investigating why a page lost search traffic, following whatever clues turn up
A quick test for your task.
Ask four questions
- Can I list the steps before it starts? If yes, build a workflow.
- Does it need different tools for different cases? Lean agent.
- What happens if it gets one wrong? Decide where a person approves.
- Can I test it against past cases? If not, gather them first.
Whichever it turns out to be, the setup is similar: a dedicated workspace connected to your tools, your brand rules written down, and a review step before anything ships.
Sources.
Is a chatbot an agent?
Not necessarily. A chatbot that only answers from a fixed knowledge base follows set steps. It becomes agent-like when it can decide to call tools, look things up and take actions on its own.
Are agents more expensive to run?
Usually, because they make more model calls as they work out what to do. That is one reason to use a workflow when the steps are known.
Can a workflow grow into an agent later?
Yes. Many start as a fixed workflow, then gain the ability to choose between a few tools once the simple version is proven.
Ready to work together?
Start at the Origin Point.
The Origin Point is the discovery call: one conversation about your site, your tools and what you want automated.