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A Complete Guide to Agentforce: Plan, Design, Build and Run AI Agents with Salesforce

Name: A Complete Guide to Agentforce: Plan, Design, Build and Run AI Agents with Salesforce
Author: Timo Kovala
ISBN: 9798868824715

by Timo Kovala

April 2026

Beginner

348 pages

9h 35m

English

Apress

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A Complete Guide to Agentforce
Foreword
Introduction
Acknowledgments
Table of Contents
About the Author
About the Technical Reviewer
1. Agentic Paradigm Shift
Precursors of Agentic AIEvolution of Workflow AutomationRise of First-Party DataMachine Learning and Predictive AIFoundation Models and the Generative Gold RushZero-Trust AI AccessBeginnings of an Agentic TransformationVisions of the FutureRise of Multi-Agent SystemsAgents as Digital ColleaguesStrategizing with AI AgentsSummary
2. Agentforce Fundamentals
Cornerstones of AgentforceModel AgnosticismUsage-Based PricingWords, Not CodeTrusted Customer 360Flow and ApexAgentblazers and AgentExchangeConfiguring an AgentChoosing Agent Type and ChannelClassifying and Scoping TopicsWriting InstructionsSetting GuardrailsDefining Agent OutcomesUsing Standard and Custom ActionsStructuring Responses with Prompt TemplatesPowering Agents with DataPreparing Data for AgentforceApplying Variables and FiltersSummary
3. Agentforce Architecture
Architectural FoundationsShort-Term and Long-Term MemoryData Retrieval and RAGReasoning, Decision-Making, and LearningTrust and EthicsArchitecting AgentforceAgent GovernanceAgent OrchestrationAgent Performance and ScalabilityAgentOps and Life Cycle ManagementSummary

4. Adopting Agentforce
Preparing for AgentforceDefine Your Vision and GoalsBuild an Impactful Business CaseDefine Solution RequirementsEvaluate Current MaturityRunning AgentforcePrepare Your Org for AgentforceBuild Your First AgentTest, Iterate, and DeployOptimize and ExpandSummary
5. Keys to Agentforce Mastery
Agentforce Success FactorsScope the Right Use CasesSimplify Topics and ActionsUse Fallbacks and FailsafesIngest Rather Than IntegrateTurn Data into ActionAgentforce Design PatternsAgent-Powered ComponentAgent Chaining via FlowAgentic DecisioningTimed Agent InvocationRemote Agent ActivationSummary
Appendix: Interviews
Interview with Wilson Gong, Senior Architect, CapgeminiInterview with Jeroen van Boxtel and Tim Weinand, SalesfiveInterview with Brandon Walton, Salesforce Marketing Champion and Owner of Cypress Learning SolutionsInterview with Joseph Kubon, Salesforce MVP and Technical Architect
Index

Content preview from A Complete Guide to Agentforce: Plan, Design, Build and Run AI Agents with Salesforce

T. KovalaA Complete Guide to Agentforcehttps://doi.org/10.1007/979-8-8688-2471-5_2

2. Agentforce Fundamentals

Timo Kovala¹

(1)

Espoo, Finland

Timo Kovala

Email: timo.kovala@gmail.com

Understanding the significance of Agentforce is one thing but implementing it requires a thorough knowledge of its core concepts. This begins by understanding the minimum requirements of an agent. For an AI to be considered an agent, three key elements are required. First, they must be able to reason; to understand the tacit meanings behind human phrases. Reasoning also means that an agent must be able to classify and interpret the objective behind a user’s request. Second, an agent should take action based on its reasoning, which differentiates it ...

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A Complete Guide to Agentforce: Plan, Design, Build and Run AI Agents with Salesforce

by Timo Kovala

2. Agentforce Fundamentals

Become an O’Reilly member and get unlimited access to this title plus top books and audiobooks from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers, thousands of courses curated by job role, 150+ live events each month,
and much more.