# Agentforce subagents, agent actions and flow automation

*Platform App Builder Study Guide · Business Logic and Process Automation · Last updated October 25, 2026 · https://www.certifyforce.com/study-guide/platform-app-builder/business-logic-and-process-automation/agentforce-subagents-agent-actions-and-flow-automation*

How Agentforce agents automate business processes: subagents (formerly topics), the Agent Router, agent actions that call autolaunched flows, prompt templates or invocable Apex, action settings, standard assets, billing, template-triggered prompt flows, Omni-Channel routing, and drafting flows with Agentforce in Flow Builder.

- Certification: Salesforce Platform App Builder
- Exam section: Business Logic and Process Automation
- Study guide: https://www.certifyforce.com/study-guide/platform-app-builder

**Official exam objective:**

> Describe the capabilities and use cases for using Agentforce to automate business processes.

## What the exam expects

- Describe an Agentforce agent in current terms: subagents (formerly topics), instructions, actions and the Agent Router, in the new Agentforce Builder versus the legacy builder.
- Decide what belongs in an agent action (an autolaunched flow, prompt template or invocable Apex) and what belongs in instructions.
- Configure custom agent action settings such as Collect data from user and Require user confirmation.
- Explain how standard assets are copied, which steps are billed, how template-triggered prompt flows ground Prompt Builder templates, and how Omni-Channel flows route conversations to an agent.
- Use Agentforce in Flow Builder to draft a flow, name the permission it needs and review the draft before activation; call a prompt template from a flow.

Key terms: **subagent** (a job the agent can do, made of actions and instructions); **agent action** (how an agent gets things done in Salesforce); **reference action** (the functionality an action calls); **Agent Router** (the system subagent that starts every conversation); **agent user** (the integration user a customer-facing agent runs as); **Omni-Channel flow** (routes conversations to or from an agent).

## Key facts

| Fact | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Topics renamed | Subagents since April 2026, no change in functionality | [Agentforce Glossary](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?language=en_US&id=ai.copilot_glossary.htm&type=5) |
| Agent Router | Starting system subagent in new-builder agents; editable instructions and transitions | [Agentforce Glossary](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?language=en_US&id=ai.copilot_glossary.htm&type=5) |
| Custom action reference types | Invocable and REST Apex, external services, autolaunched flows, MuleSoft APIs, prompt templates | [Custom Agent Action](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?language=en_US&id=ai.copilot_actions_custom.htm&type=5) |
| Critical business logic | In an agent action, not in nondeterministic instructions | [Subagents in the Legacy Builder](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=ai.copilot_topics.htm&language=en_US&type=5) |
| Standard asset updates | Not applied automatically; re-add and recreate customizations | [Builder Considerations](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=ai.agent_considerations.htm&language=en_US&type=5) |
| Billing | Agent actions bill when they run; escalation, variables and transitions don't | [Builder Considerations](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=ai.agent_considerations.htm&language=en_US&type=5) |
| Agentforce for Flow | Beta; turn on in Process Automation Settings; Manage Flow; review drafts | [Drafting Flows with Agentforce](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.flow_build_let_einstein_help_you_build_flows.htm&type=5); [Build a Flow](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.flow_build.htm&language=en_US&type=5) |
| Template-triggered prompt flow add-on | Einstein for Sales, Einstein for Service or Einstein Platform | [Template-Triggered Prompt Flows](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?language=en_US&id=platform.flow_concepts_trigger_prompt_template_capability.htm&type=5) |

## Check yourself

- Why should a refund-eligibility rule live in a flow rather than in subagent instructions?
- When does an agent pick up Salesforce's changes to a standard action it already uses?
- What does a subagent contain?
- When is a template-triggered prompt flow the right tool?

## Sources

- [Agentforce Glossary of Terms](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?language=en_US&id=ai.copilot_glossary.htm&type=5)
- [Subagents in the Legacy Builder](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=ai.copilot_topics.htm&language=en_US&type=5)
- [Create a Custom Agent Action in the Legacy Builder](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?language=en_US&id=ai.copilot_actions_custom.htm&type=5)
- [Agentforce Builder Considerations](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=ai.agent_considerations.htm&language=en_US&type=5)
- [Template-Triggered Prompt Flows](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?language=en_US&id=platform.flow_concepts_trigger_prompt_template_capability.htm&type=5)
- [Design and Implement Agents](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=ai.copilot_intro.htm)
- [Drafting Flows with Agentforce (Beta)](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.flow_build_let_einstein_help_you_build_flows.htm&type=5)
- [Flex Prompt Templates in Action](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.prompt_builder_templates_in_action_flex.htm&type=5)
- [Best Practices for Drafting Flows with Agentforce (Beta)](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.flow_build_best_practices_and_considerations_for_einstein_for_flow.htm&language=en_US&type=5)
- [Build a Flow](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.flow_build.htm&language=en_US&type=5)
- [Provided Flow Core Actions](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?language=en_US&id=platform.flow_ref_elements_actions_list.htm&type=5)

## About the full unit

The "Core concepts", "Exam traps" and "Worked scenario" sections of this unit, its 12 linked practice questions, and unlimited timed mock exams are included with the Platform App Builder pack (USD $19): https://www.certifyforce.com/practice-exams