When to use Agent API versus standard channels
Key Takeaway
Deploy an agent on a standard channel by default, because standard channels come with built-in routing and escalation. Use Agent API when a system or process must call the agent headlessly, with no user interface or human trigger, or when you need a chat channel built from the ground up.
Agent API lets an outside client or a background process talk directly to an Agentforce agent, without going through a channel that Salesforce manages. Standard channels, such as the Agentforce panel, Slack, messaging, email and voice, come with built-in channel context, routing and escalation, so they are the default place to deploy an agent. Agent API is the choice for headless, automated or fully custom experiences that those channels don't cover.
Standard channels
Standard channels are the places Salesforce provides for deploying an agent. They include:
- The Agentforce panel in Lightning Experience
- The Salesforce mobile app
- Slack
- Messaging platforms
- Email
- Voice through telephony
Channel support varies by agent type. For example, Slack works with Agentforce Employee agents, while Service Email and Telephony work with Agentforce Service agents.
Standard channels work through connections. A connection gives the agent behind-the-scenes instructions for its channels and adaptive response formats, such as images, buttons, links and videos. A connection also holds settings like the Omni-Channel flows that route conversations to and from the agent. You build the agent once and add it to many channels.
Standard channels also handle the handoff to people. The agent runs the Escalation subagent when someone asks for a person, or when the conversation turns complex or sensitive. On some channels, the agent then sends the conversation and its history through an outbound Omni-Channel flow to a service rep, a queue or another agent.