# Agents, workflows and apps

> Choose a specialist, a repeatable recipe or a shared interface for the job.

Agents, workflows and apps solve different parts of a business task. Choose by the outcome you need, then combine them where useful.

## Choose by the job

An agent decides how to complete a task. A workflow follows a saved recipe. An app gives people a shared interface and exposes permitted functions to agents.

Use an agent for work that needs judgement, such as researching a customer or answering support questions. Its identity, skills, file grants and tools bound what it can do.

Use a workflow for a repeatable process with declared inputs, steps and triggers. It can call tools, use AI, branch on conditions and delegate a task to an agent.

Use an app when your team needs shared records and a purpose-built interface. The app's functions can also become tools for authorized agents, workflows and external MCP clients.

## Combine them deliberately

For example, an app can hold customer requests. A workflow can process new requests on a trigger. An agent can draft a response using company policies and an approved connection.

Each layer retains its own access controls. Attaching an app gives an agent only the app functions allowed by its assigned app roles. A workflow's agent step retains the agent's tool grants and Workspace access.

> **Watch out** — Workflows cannot pause for approval. An agent's Ask tools run automatically inside a workflow; Off tools remain blocked.

A saved workflow is a recipe, not a promise that every external service call succeeds. Review its guardrails and failure history before relying on unattended runs.

## Related

- [Create an agent](/en/docs/agents/create)
- [Build a workflow](/en/docs/workflows/build)
- [Build an app](/en/docs/apps/build)
- [Workflow guardrails](/en/docs/workflows/guardrails)