Workflow automation: the same steps every time
Automation runs a defined process from start to finish. AI can handle individual steps that used to need a person, such as reading a document, classifying an email or drafting a reply, but the path is fixed.
Good fit: supplier invoice intake, onboarding paperwork, routing requests to the right team.
Ask: Could you draw this process as a flowchart that rarely changes?
AI agents: the path varies, the goal doesn’t
An agent is given a goal and a set of tools it may use, and decides which steps to take. That flexibility suits work where each case needs a slightly different route, such as researching a new inquiry before drafting a CRM record.
Good fit: inbound inquiry handling, customer service triage, preparing finance approvals.
Ask: Does a skilled person currently decide what to do next at each step?
Because agents choose their own steps, they need clear limits: the tools they may use, the actions that need a person’s approval, and a full log of what they did.
Data agents: questions about your numbers
A data agent answers plain-English questions from structured business data, such as sales, finance or operations figures. It works best on a governed data model with agreed definitions, and it should show the query behind each answer.
Good fit: “Which product lines grew fastest last quarter?” or “Which regions are behind target?”
Ask: Is the answer a number or a table that already lives in your reporting data?
Knowledge assistants: questions about your documents
A knowledge assistant answers from approved documents, such as policies, procedures and product information, and cites its sources.
Good fit: HR policy questions, internal procedures, product and support information.
Ask: Is the answer written down somewhere, rather than calculated?
Choosing
- The same steps every time: workflow automation.
- Multi-step work where the path varies: an AI agent, with approvals.
- Questions about business figures: a data agent.
- Questions answered by documents: a knowledge assistant.
Many real solutions combine them. An inquiry workflow might be mostly automation, with one agent step to research the company and a person approving the final CRM record. Start with the simplest option that solves the problem, and add flexibility only where the work needs it.