Agents & tools
Agentic Workflow
A multi-step task where an AI agent autonomously decides the steps, uses tools as needed, and works toward a goal with minimal human steering.
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In plain English
An agentic workflow is the actual sequence of actions an agentic AI runs to complete a task — the planning, tool calls, intermediate reasoning, and final output. Unlike a fixed automation (Zapier, Make), an agentic workflow is decided in real time by the model.
Typical shape:
- User describes a goal in natural language
- Agent breaks it into sub-tasks
- Agent picks a tool for each sub-task and runs it
- Agent reads the result and decides what's next
- Agent loops until done, then summarises
Examples in production:
- A research agent that asks itself follow-up questions, browses sources, and writes a brief
- A coding agent that reads a bug report, locates the file, writes a fix, runs tests, opens a PR
- A sales agent that pulls a lead, enriches it, drafts outreach, schedules the send
Agentic workflows trade reliability for flexibility — they handle ambiguity well but can drift or loop. Good harnesses add guardrails (step caps, budget limits, human approval gates) to keep them productive.
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Related terms
Agentic AI
AI systems designed to act, not just respond — they plan, use tools, and make decisions across multiple steps to complete a goal.
AI Agent
Software that uses an LLM to plan and act — picking tools, taking actions, and adapting based on results to complete a user’s goal.
Agent Harness
The scaffolding around an LLM — tools, memory, loops, and orchestration — that turns a model into an agent.
Workflow Automation
AI-powered tools that chain together multiple steps — apps, APIs, and AI models — to automate end-to-end business processes.
Tool Use
The ability of an AI model to call external tools — like a calculator, search engine, or API — to help answer a question.
Human in the Loop
An AI workflow that pauses for a human to review, approve, or correct the model’s output at key steps — instead of running fully autonomously.
Back to glossaryLast reviewed May 2026