# Choosing an Employee or Service agent

*Agentforce Specialist Study Guide · AI Agents · Last updated October 15, 2026 · https://www.certifyforce.com/study-guide/agentforce-specialist/ai-agents/choosing-an-employee-or-service-agent*

How to pick the agent type from the audience, channel and running user: Agentforce Employee agents for staff, Agentforce Service agents for customers, the permissions to build each, Flex Credits billing, migrating retired Agentforce (Default) agents, and splitting two audiences into two agents.

- Certification: Salesforce Agentforce Specialist
- Exam section: AI Agents
- Study guide: https://www.certifyforce.com/study-guide/agentforce-specialist

**Official exam objective:**

> Given a scenario, identify when to use an Employee or Service agent.

## What the exam expects

- Given an audience and a channel, choose an Agentforce Employee agent or an Agentforce Service agent, and reject neighbouring types (Service Assistant, Setup with Agentforce, Lead Nurturing, Agentforce (Default)).
- State the permissions needed to create and manage each type and why Manage AI Agents is assigned sparingly.
- Explain how each type is billed in Flex Credits and which Trust Layer services apply.
- Recommend migrating retired Agentforce (Default) agents to Employee agents.
- Design a two-audience solution with separate agents and non-overlapping subagents (formerly topics).
- Key terms: **Employee agent** (helps employees with company knowledge, tasks and workflows; runs as the logged-in user); **Service agent** (supports customers and escalates; runs as an agent user); **agent user** (the dedicated user record a Service agent runs as); **Flex Credits** (the consumption currency metered per action); **Manage AI Agents** (org-wide management of all agents).

## Key facts

| Fact | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Employee agent purpose | Company knowledge, tasks and workflows across departments | [Agent Types and Considerations](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=ai.agent_setup_explore_types.htm&language=en_US&type=5) |
| Service agent purpose | Customer inquiries, escalating complex issues | [Agent Types and Considerations](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=ai.agent_setup_explore_types.htm&language=en_US&type=5) |
| Employee agent identity | Logged-in user context; assignable to profiles or users | [Employee Agent Template](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?language=en_US&id=ai.agent_employee_agent_setup.htm&type=5) |
| Employee agent channels | Agentforce panel, Slack, Salesforce mobile app | [Employee Agent Considerations](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=ai.agent_employee_agent_considerations.htm&language=en_US&type=5) |
| Service agent features | Messaging, Omni-Channel, Prompt Builder, Agentforce Data Library | [Get to Know Agentforce Service Agent](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=service.bots_service_asa_about.htm&language=en_US&type=5) |
| Manage AI Agents | Org-wide management of all agents; required for Agentforce Builder | [Agent Types and Considerations](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=ai.agent_setup_explore_types.htm&language=en_US&type=5) |
| Action metering | Each standard or custom action in a text conversation = one action | [Employee Agent Considerations](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=ai.agent_employee_agent_considerations.htm&language=en_US&type=5) |
| Unmetered usage | Users with Unmetered User-Based AI, plus qualifying human-context usage | [Employee Agent Considerations](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=ai.agent_employee_agent_considerations.htm&language=en_US&type=5) |
| Data masking | Disabled for agents | [Employee Agent Considerations](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=ai.agent_employee_agent_considerations.htm&language=en_US&type=5) |
| Agentforce (Default) | Retired; no new features; migrate to Employee agent | [Agent Types and Considerations](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=ai.agent_setup_explore_types.htm&language=en_US&type=5) |
| Legacy builder | No new agents from the week of July 13, 2026 | [Create an Agent](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=ai.agent_setup_create.htm&language=en_US) |

## Check yourself

- Why is the agent type a design decision rather than a runtime switch?
- When is a Service agent the right choice?
- Why should multiple Employee agents each have a described purpose?
- What does the Agentforce (Default) migration flow produce?

## Sources

- [Agent Types and Considerations](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=ai.agent_setup_explore_types.htm&language=en_US&type=5)
- [Considerations for Agentforce Employee Agent](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=ai.agent_employee_agent_considerations.htm&language=en_US&type=5)
- [Get to Know Agentforce Service Agent](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=service.bots_service_asa_about.htm&language=en_US&type=5)
- [Considerations for Agentforce Service Agent](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=ai.service_agent_considerations.htm&language=en_US&type=5)
- [Create an Agent](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=ai.agent_setup_create.htm&language=en_US)
- [Create an Agent from an Agentforce Employee Agent Template](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?language=en_US&id=ai.agent_employee_agent_setup.htm&type=5)
- [Create an Agent from an Agentforce Service Agent Template](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?language=en_US&id=ai.service_agent_setup.htm&type=5)
- [Configure Service Agent Access](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?language=en_US&id=ai.agent_user.htm&type=5)
- [Standard Agent Connection Reference](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?language=en_US&id=ai.agent_surfaces_ref.htm&type=5)

## About the full unit

The "Core concepts", "Exam traps" and "Worked scenario" sections of this unit, its 11 linked practice questions, and unlimited timed mock exams are included with the Agentforce Specialist pack (USD $19): https://www.certifyforce.com/practice-exams