AI agent workflows that run on your real tools

An AI agent workflow is a structured sequence where an LLM-driven agent plans toward a goal, calls tools, and acts across multiple steps, with humans approving key checkpoints. It combines reasoning, tool calls, and memory so the system can handle tasks that need more than a single prompt and response.

An AI workflow follows a fixed, predefined path: the steps and their order are decided in advance, which makes it predictable and easy to audit. An AI agent is goal-driven and chooses its own steps dynamically, which is more flexible but less predictable. An agentic workflow blends both, using deterministic steps where you want control and agentic steps where the path cannot be hardcoded.

The common patterns are prompt chaining (sequential steps that feed each other), routing (classifying input and sending it down the right path), parallelization (running independent subtasks at once), orchestrator-worker (a lead agent splits a goal and delegates to workers), and evaluator-optimizer or reflection (one step checks and improves another's output). Most real systems combine several of these.

Use a fixed workflow when the steps are known, the path is stable, and you need predictability and easy auditing. Use an agent when the input is open-ended, the right sequence of steps cannot be defined in advance, or the task needs the system to react to what it finds along the way. When in doubt, start with the most deterministic design that solves the problem and add agentic steps only where they earn their place.

Put humans in the loop at the steps that write or send anything, scope each agent's tool access to only what it needs, and run on a platform with real security controls. Coworker keeps read-only and synthesis steps automatic while routing actions like CRM updates and ticket creation through approval gates, and it is SOC 2 Type II, GDPR, and CASA Tier 2 certified with US hosting.

Yes. Coworker has a built-in agent builder, so you can give an agent custom instructions, scoped tool access, and a defined workflow across your connected tools. Custom agents run alongside Coworker's out-of-the-box OM1 intelligence, so you get value immediately and can build more specialized workflows over time.