How to Build Your First Agent in Salesforce Agentforce:        A Step-by-Step Guide 

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Devansh Garg

February 24, 2025

Salesforce continues to revolutionize the CRM and automation landscape with cutting-edge tools, and Agentforce is the latest innovation aimed at enhancing business automation capabilities. Agentforce provides Salesforce Admins and Developers with the ability to build assistive and autonomous agents that can independently execute tasks, streamline processes, and deliver exceptional results. This comprehensive, step-by-step guide will help you build your first Agentforce agent from scratch. 

What is Agentforce?

Agentforce is Salesforce’s AI-powered suite designed to build intelligent agents that assist users and automate complex workflows across a variety of business functions. Unlike traditional automation tools, Agentforce agents leverage advanced AI capabilities, including Salesforce’s Atlas Reasoning Engine, to independently handle tasks, access multiple data sources, and learn from user interactions. These agents are equipped to work seamlessly in various environments, such as customer service, sales, and field operations, enabling organizations to streamline their processes with unparalleled efficiency and precision. 

By integrating deeply with Salesforce’s ecosystem and external platforms, Agentforce agents provide real-time insights, actionable recommendations, and personalized solutions that reduce manual effort and optimize workflows. They can autonomously resolve issues, respond to inquiries, and adapt to dynamic business needs, making them an invaluable asset in today’s fast-paced environments. 

What sets Agentforce apart is its ability to continuously learn and improve through machine learning. This adaptability ensures that the agents not only maintain relevance over time but also contribute to higher productivity, improved decision-making, and a superior user experience. Businesses leveraging Agentforce can significantly boost operational efficiency, enhance customer satisfaction, and free up valuable time for teams to focus on strategic initiatives, innovation, and creative problem-solving. By embracing Agentforce, companies are empowered to stay ahead in competitive markets and achieve long-term success. 

Prerequisites for Building an Agent

Before you start building your first agent with Agentforce, it’s essential to ensure you have all the necessary prerequisites in place to guarantee a smooth and successful setup.

  • Salesforce Edition: You must have access to an Enterprise, Performance, or Unlimited edition of Salesforce with Agentforce enabled. These editions provide the advanced features and capabilities required to support AI-powered agents and the seamless integration they offer.
  • Permissions: Make sure you have administrative privileges within your Salesforce environment. This includes the ability to enable Einstein features, configure settings, and create agents. Administrative access ensures you can manage all aspects of the Agentforce setup and make necessary adjustments as required.
  • Basic Salesforce Knowledge: While not mandatory, having a solid understanding of Salesforce basics will significantly enhance your experience. Familiarity with Salesforce setup processes, tools like Flow Builder, and Experience Cloud can help you navigate and customize your agents more efficiently. This foundational knowledge allows you to leverage the full potential of Agentforce while tailoring it to suit your organization’s unique needs.

Setting Up Your Salesforce Environment

This step ensures that your Salesforce environment is correctly configured to support Agentforce. By setting up the necessary organizational features and permissions, businesses can establish a solid foundation for building agents, ensuring smooth integration with Salesforce tools and compatibility with existing workflows. It allows administrators to validate system readiness and address prerequisites before proceeding further. 

To start building an agent, you first need to set up your Salesforce environment: 

  1. Log in to your Salesforce account. 
  2. Navigate to the Setup menu. 
  3. Use the Quick Find box to search for “Agents” and click on it. 
  4. Ensure that Agentforce and related features are available in your org. 

Enabling Einstein Features

Agentforce relies on Salesforce Einstein for its AI-driven capabilities. This step involves activating Einstein AI to unlock predictive analytics, intelligent data processing, and machine learning functionalities. Enabling these features empowers businesses to build smarter agents that can process complex tasks, make accurate decisions, and adapt to changing user needs, enhancing overall efficiency and user satisfaction. Agentforce relies on Salesforce Einstein for its AI-driven capabilities. To enable Einstein features: 

  1. In the Setup menu, search for “Einstein Setup” and open it. 
  2. Click the Turn on Einstein button to activate Einstein AI. 
  3. Refresh your browser to ensure the changes are applied. 
  4. Once enabled, ensure that the Einstein Copilot feature is also turned on by navigating to the Agents setup page. 

Creating a New Agent

This step guides the creation of a new Agentforce agent tailored to specific business objectives. By selecting the appropriate agent type and configuring essential details like name, API parameters, and assigned users, organizations can create agents suited to their unique operational requirements. This setup ensures a personalized foundation for automation and customer interaction. 

Once your environment is set up, you can begin creating your first agent: 

  1. In the Setup menu, search for Agents and select it. 
  2. Click the + New Agent button. 
  3. Choose the type of agent you want to create. For this guide, select Agentforce Service Agent. 
  4. Provide the following details: 
  5. Name: A descriptive name for the agent (e.g., “Customer Support Agent”). 
  6. API Name: This field auto-populates based on the agent’s name. 
  7. Company: Provide a brief description of your company. 
  8. Agent User: Assign a user profile to the agent. 
  9. Click Create to finalize the setup. 

Configuring the Agent in Agent Builder

The Agent Builder allows for defining the agent’s core functionalities, including the topics and actions it can handle. This step focuses on customizing the agent’s capabilities to align with organizational needs. Businesses can fine-tune default configurations, ensuring the agent is ready to address specific tasks, workflows, and processes effectively. After creating the agent, you will be directed to the Agent Builder interface. This is where you will define the agent’s capabilities, including the topics it can handle and the actions it can perform. 

  1. Click Open in Builder to access the Agent Builder. 
  2. Review the default configuration and make any necessary adjustments. 
  3. You will see tabs for Topics, Actions, and Instructions, which you will configure in the next steps. 

Defining Topics for Your Agent

Topics are the foundation of an agent’s capabilities, defining the tasks it can perform. This step enables businesses to structure the agent’s focus areas, ensuring clarity and alignment with user expectations. By specifying labels, classifications, and detailed instructions, agents are better equipped to deliver accurate, consistent, and relevant responses. Topics are essential components of Agentforce, defining what tasks the agent can handle. To add a new topic: 

  1. In the Agent Builder, select the Topics tab. 
  2. Click New Topic and enter the following information: 
  3. Topic Label: Provide a clear and descriptive name for the topic (e.g., “Order Tracking”). 
  4. Classification: Enter a brief description of the topic’s purpose. 
  5. Scope: Define whether the topic applies to specific objects or general processes. 
  6. Instruction: Provide detailed instructions on how the agent should handle tasks related to this topic. 
  7. Click Next and then Finish to create the topic. 

Adding Actions to Topics

Actions specify what the agent can do within a topic, enabling it to execute tasks such as retrieving data or completing processes. Businesses can enhance the agent’s functionality by leveraging pre-built or custom actions, ensuring it meets the demands of various scenarios. Configuring actions enables agents to perform specific tasks efficiently, improving operational productivity. Actions define what the agent can do within a specific topic. You can use pre-built actions or create custom actions using Flow Builder. 

  • In the Topics section, choose the specific topic to which you wish to add actions. 
  • Click on the Actions sub-tab and then New Action. 
  • Choose the type of action:
a. Standard Action: Pre-configured actions available in Agentforce.
b. Custom Action: Actions you create using flows or prompt templates.
  • Configure the action by specifying input and output parameters. 
  • Click Finish to save the action. 

Creating Custom Actions with Flows

Custom actions provide flexibility for handling unique business processes. By using Flow Builder, organizations can create tailored logic to support complex workflows. This step allows agents to address specific use cases, ensuring adaptability to diverse operational challenges and enabling them to deliver precise, task-specific outcomes. If your business process needs customized logic, you can build custom actions using Salesforce Flows: 

  1. Go to the Flow Builder section within the Setup menu. 
  2. Create a new flow and define the required steps. 
  3. Ensure you set up input and output variables that can be mapped in the Agent Builder. 
  4. Save and activate the flow. 
  5. In Agent Builder, go to the Actions tab, click New Action, and select Flow as the action type. 
  6. Select the flow you created and map the variables accordingly. 
  7. Click Finish to add the custom action. 

Testing Your Agent

Testing ensures that the agent functions correctly and delivers the expected outcomesBy mimicking user interactions, organizations can detect and address potential issues prior to deployment. This step is crucial for ensuring reliability, enhancing user experience, and minimizing disruptions during real-world usage. It is important to test the functionality of your agent before deploying it: 

  1. In the Agent Builder, navigate to the Conversation Preview section. 
  2. Simulate various user prompts and verify the agent’s responses. 
  3. Ensure that the agent performs actions correctly and handles different scenarios as expected. 

Activating and Deploying the Agent

Activating and deploying the agent makes it accessible to users. By integrating the agent into an Experience Cloud site, businesses can offer seamless interactions to customers or employees. This step finalizes the agent’s readiness, enabling it to perform live tasks and contribute to improved customer service, operational efficiency, or internal workflows. Once you are satisfied with the agent’s performance, you can activate and deploy it: 

  1. In the Agent Builder, click Activate to enable the agent. 
  2. To deploy the agent:
  • Navigate to Experience Cloud in the Setup menu. 
  • Select the site where you want to deploy the agent. 
  • Click Builder next to the site name. 
  • Add the agent component to the desired page and publish the site. 

Monitoring and Optimizing Agent Performance

After deploying your Agentforce agent, it’s crucial to monitor its performance and optimize it regularly to ensure it continues to meet user expectations and aligns with evolving business needs. Effective monitoring and optimization help maintain the agent’s efficiency and reliability over time. 

Use Salesforce’s Built-in Analytics Tools: 

Salesforce offers robust analytics tools that allow you to track agent interactions, monitor success rates, and analyze overall performance. Use these insights to identify patterns, pinpoint bottlenecks, and determine the agent’s effectiveness in addressing user queries. Key metrics such as resolution times, engagement rates, and customer satisfaction scores provide valuable data for evaluating the agent’s impact. 

Gather Feedback from Users: 

Encourage users to share feedback about their interactions with the agent. Surveys, support tickets, or direct input can help identify pain points, unmet needs, or areas where the agent might be underperforming. User feedback is instrumental in ensuring the agent provides a positive and intuitive experience. 

Regularly Update Topics and Actions: 

Business needs and user expectations change over time, and your agent must adapt accordingly. Regularly review and update the agent’s topics, actions, and instructions to reflect new products, services, or workflows. Adding new capabilities and fine-tuning existing ones ensures the agent remains relevant, effective, and aligned with organizational goals. 

By actively monitoring and optimizing your Agentforce agent, you can maximize its value, improve user satisfaction, and ensure it continues to deliver impactful results. 

Best Practices for Building Effective Agentforce Agents

To build high-impact agents that deliver value and seamlessly integrate into your business processes, it’s essential to follow these best practices. These guidelines not only ensure the effectiveness of your agents but also enhance their scalability and user satisfaction. 

  • Start Small: Begin with a few key topics and actions that address the most pressing needs of your users or organization. This focused approach allows you to fine-tune your agent’s behavior, ensuring it performs reliably and effectively. As you gain confidence in its capabilities and gather user feedback, you can gradually expand its scope by adding more features and functionalities. Starting small reduces the risk of overwhelming users or introducing errors in a complex initial setup.

     

  • Focus on User Experience: The success of your agent hinges on how well it interacts with users. Ensure its responses are clear, concise, and contextually relevant. Anticipate user needs by providing thoughtful prompts and helpful suggestions, and avoid overloading users with unnecessary information. A positive user experience builds trust and encourages greater adoption of your agent.

     

  • Leverage Modular Flows: Create modular flows for reusable actions that can be applied across multiple topics and scenarios. Modular design streamlines the agent-building process and simplifies updates or changes. It also ensures consistency in your agent’s behavior, saving time and reducing errors when managing complex workflows.

     

  • Test Thoroughly: Regular and thorough testing is vital to ensure your agent functions as intended. Test the agent across different scenarios, user inputs, and edge cases to identify potential issues before they impact users. Involve stakeholders or beta testers to provide diverse perspectives and insights. Testing ensures your agent delivers a reliable and polished experience.

     

  • Document Your Agent: Maintain detailed and organized documentation of your agent’s configuration, including its topics, actions, and flows. Documentation acts as an essential resource for resolving issues, making future updates, and training new team members. A well-documented agent reduces maintenance overhead and facilitates seamless collaboration within your team.

     

By adhering to these best practices, you can build effective Agentforce agents that not only meet your immediate needs but also serve as scalable and adaptable tools for driving long-term business success. 

Conclusion 

Building your first agent in Salesforce Agentforce may seem challenging at first, but with the right approach, it becomes a rewarding process that transforms how your organization operates. By following a clear step-by-step guide, you can create an AI-driven tool that automates tasks, enhances productivity, and aligns seamlessly with your business goals. Agentforce provides a robust suite of features, empowering businesses to leverage artificial intelligence to streamline operations, improve efficiency, and deliver measurable results. Starting with a well-defined scope is crucial—outline the tasks to automate, expected outcomes, and user interactions to ensure your agent is purpose-built to address specific needs. Utilizing Salesforce’s advanced tools like the Atlas Reasoning Engine, Flow Builder, and Experience Cloud allows you to build agents capable of handling complex workflows and integrating seamlessly with existing systems.  

Adopting best practices such as thorough testing, continuous optimization, and detailed documentation ensures your agent operates reliably and delivers consistent value. Whether it’s automating customer support, enhancing sales processes, or streamlining internal workflows, Agentforce offers a flexible and scalable solution adaptable to your organization’s evolving needs. With its ability to learn, adapt, and improve through machine learning, the possibilities for innovation are endless, making Agentforce an invaluable asset in driving long-term business success and superior user experiences. 

To deepen your understanding of Salesforce Agentforce and its capabilities, you may find our previous article, “Salesforce Agentforce Demystified: Your Essential Guide,” particularly insightful. 

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