Lesson 6 of 7
From workflow to agent
7 min read
Every flow so far ran the exact steps you drew, in the exact order. But what if you don't know the steps ahead of time — because the right next move depends on what just happened?
When the path isn't fixed
A workflow is a fixed path: you decide every step in advance and it runs the same way each time. Perfect when the job is predictable. But some jobs aren't — the right next step depends on what you just found out. That's where an agent comes in: you hand it a goal, not a script.
An agent gets a goal, not a fixed list of steps. It loops — think, act, observe — and picks its next move from what it just saw.
Fixed flow vs. deciding on the fly
Watch the difference. A rigid workflow told to "book 7pm" would just fail when 7pm is full. The agent notices 7pm is gone and tries 8pm on its own — nobody wired that branch in advance. It's the gap between following a recipe and having a cook who adapts.
Workflows are reliable and repeatable; agents are flexible but less predictable. Use a workflow when you know the steps, an agent when you don't.
Agents are powerful, but they can wander or make mistakes. Keep a human in the loop for anything costly, risky, or hard to undo.
The shape of it
- —A workflow follows a fixed, pre-drawn path every time.
- —An agent gets a goal and chooses its own steps, reacting as it goes.
- —Workflows are predictable; agents are flexible. Match the tool to the job.
When is an agent a better fit than a fixed workflow?
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