Agentic workflow
A workflow where an AI agent plans, executes, and adapts a multi-step process — autonomously calling tools, reading data, and looping until the goal is met.
An agentic workflow is the practical shape of agent work in 2026. Where a traditional automation pipeline is a fixed series of steps, an agentic workflow has an LLM in the loop deciding what step to take next based on the current state.
The common pattern: a trigger fires (email arrives, ticket opens, schedule hits), the agent reads context, plans the steps, executes each one with tools, observes results, and adapts. Approval gates pause the flow at irreversible actions. The whole thing is replayable and auditable.
Picking agentic over traditional: choose agentic when inputs vary, when the right sequence of steps depends on context, or when the task requires judgment. Choose traditional automation when the same fixed sequence is correct every time — agents are overkill and slower.
Lindy, Relay, Zapier Agents, n8n Agents and Tines AI all ship agentic-workflow builders — visual canvases where you wire triggers, LLM decision steps, and tool calls into reusable processes.
See agentic-workflow buildersWhere this shows up
Frequently asked
How is an agentic workflow different from a Zapier zap?+
A Zap is a fixed if-this-then-that pipeline. An agentic workflow has an LLM deciding what to do next at each step — so the same trigger can produce different action sequences depending on context.
What is the right tool to build agentic workflows?+
For no-code, Lindy and Relay are the strongest pure-agent builders. Zapier Agents and n8n Agents add agentic steps to existing automation graphs. Tines AI targets security and ops teams.