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2.3 Standard and Custom Agent Actions

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Salesforce Certified Agentforce Specialist Exam

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1 Chapter 1: Exam Overview & How Agentforce Agents Work

1.1 Agentforce Specialist (AI-201) Exam Facts & Spring '26 Blueprint 1.2 How an Agent Works & the Building Blocks of Agent Script 1.3 Hybrid Reasoning: Agent Script in Canvas View and Script View

2 Chapter 2: Deterministic Control, Topics (Subagents) & Actions

2.1 Deterministic Behavior: Filters, Variables & Template Expressions 2.2 Standard and Custom Topics (Subagents) 2.3 Standard and Custom Agent Actions

3 Chapter 3: Agent Types, Security Context, Channels & Agent API

3.1 When to Use an Employee Agent or a Service Agent 3.2 Security Context: Who the Agent Runs As and How It Affects Actions 3.3 Connecting Agents to Channels: Digital Experiences, Email, Voice & Slack 3.4 When to Use the Agent API

4 Chapter 4: Prompt Builder Fundamentals

4.1 When to Use Prompt Builder 4.2 Access Controls Governing Prompt Templates 4.3 Prompt Template Types: Field Generation, Flex & More 4.4 Creating, Activating & Executing Prompt Templates

5 Chapter 5: Grounding, Prompt Best Practices, Trust Layer & Model Access

5.1 Choosing the Right Grounding Technique 5.2 Best Practices for Writing Effective Prompts 5.3 Einstein Trust Layer Security and Privacy Features 5.4 Managing and Preventing Access to Specific Models

6 Chapter 6: Data 360 Fundamentals for Agentforce

6.1 Agentforce Data Library: Types and Concepts 6.2 Chunking: Breaking Content Into Retrievable Units 6.3 Indexing and Search Types: Vector, Hybrid & Keyword 6.4 Retrievers: Individual, Ensemble & Filtered Retrieval

7 Chapter 7: Testing Agents with Testing Center

7.1 Testing an Agent with Testing Center 7.2 How Testing Center Evaluations Work

8 Chapter 8: Deploying Agents and Prompt Templates

8.1 Deploying an Agent from Sandbox to Production 8.2 Deploying Prompt Templates from Sandbox to Production

9 Chapter 9: Governance and Observability

9.1 Managing and Monitoring Agents 9.2 Agent Analytics and Agent Optimization

10 Chapter 10: Multi-Agent Orchestration, MCP & A2A

10.1 When a Multi-Agent Architecture Is Appropriate 10.2 Open Multi-Agent Protocols: MCP and A2A

2.3 Standard and Custom Agent Actions

Key Takeaways Explain This Topic AI

Standard agent actions include Answer Questions with Knowledge, Query Records, Get Record Details, Summarize Record, Update Record, Draft or Revise Email, and Create Case.

Custom actions can reference invocable and REST Apex, external services, autolaunched flows, MuleSoft APIs, or prompt templates.

Input settings include Collect data from user and Require input; output settings include Include in agent context and Show in conversation.

Require user confirmation makes the agent ask the user to confirm before running an action that changes a record.

Access to a custom action follows the referenced functionality, so the user or agent user needs permissions such as Run Flows, Apex class access, or Prompt Template User.

Last updated: September 2026

2.3 Standard and Custom Agent Actions

Quick Answer: Actions are how agents get things done. Standard actions are prebuilt for common jobs, such as Answer Questions with Knowledge, Query Records, Summarize Record, Draft or Revise Email, and Create Case. Custom actions wrap your own functionality: invocable or REST Apex, external services, autolaunched flows, MuleSoft APIs, or prompt templates . Configure each action's description, inputs, outputs, and confirmation settings so the agent knows when and how to use it.

Standard Agent Actions

Salesforce provides a large Standard Action Reference organized by product area. These Agentforce Platform actions appear often in scenarios:

Standard action What it does

Answer Questions with Knowledge Answers questions using the content in an assigned Agentforce Data Library , with citations

  • Query Records / Query Records with Aggregate Finds records, or aggregates across them, based on the request
  • Identify Record by Name Resolves a record the user mentions by name
  • Get Record Details Retrieves details of a specific record
  • Summarize Record Summarizes a record, using a Record Summary prompt template
  • Update Record Updates fields on a record
  • Draft or Revise Email Drafts or revises an email grounded in Salesforce data
  • Create Case / Create Case with Enhanced Data Creates a case, optionally with generated subject and description
  • Get Cases for Verified Contact Looks up cases scoped to the verified customer ID
  • Verify Customer / Send Email with Verification Code Supports identity verification
  • Get Activities Timeline Retrieves activity history for a record

Some standard actions are reference actions backed by an editable flow or prompt template, so you can customize their behavior by editing the underlying asset. Many industry and cloud-specific actions (Field Service, Financial Services, Health, and others) require add-on licenses.

Custom Agent Actions

When no standard action fits, create a custom action. You choose a Reference Action Type and then the specific reference action:

Reference action type Best for Example

Flow (autolaunched) Declarative multi-step logic, record updates, deterministic business rules Check return eligibility and create a return order

Apex (invocable methods and REST Apex classes) Complex calculations, heavy logic, or programmatic integrations Calculate a loan payoff amount

  • Prompt template Generative output grounded in data Draft a personalized follow-up message
  • External service Calling a registered REST API declaratively Check warehouse stock in an external system
  • MuleSoft API Governed APIs from MuleSoft Retrieve an invoice from an ERP through a MuleSoft process API

MCP server tools that an admin allowlists in Agentforce Registry or API Catalog also appear in the asset library as agent actions (see section 10.2).

Requirements for the underlying functionality

Flows must be autolaunched . Variables the agent passes in or reads must be marked Available for input or Available for output .

Apex must expose an @InvocableMethod (or a REST Apex class). Clear labels and descriptions on the method and its @InvocableVariable fields become the action and parameter descriptions.

Prompt templates must be active to be used as actions.

When you create the action, the descriptions for the action and each input and output are copied from the reference action . Review and improve them, because the LLM relies on them.

Action Settings That Change Agent Behavior

Setting Level Effect

Collect data from user Input The parameter must come from the user, so the agent asks for it instead of inferring it

Require input Input The action can't run unless this input is present. It's on and read-only when the reference action requires the input

Include in agent context Output The output is added to conversation history and is available for reasoning. At least one output must be used

Show in conversation Output The output appears in the agent's response, and some channels render structured content such as records. If off for all outputs, the LLM summarizes them in natural language

Require user confirmation Action The agent asks the user to confirm before running an action that changes a record

Show loading text Action Custom text while the action runs. Enhanced messaging channels need additional configuration

In Agent Script, these settings appear as properties such as require_user_confirmation and include_in_progress_indicator on the action definition, with a target such as flow://Get_Order .

Where You Create the Action Matters

Created from Availability Sync behavior

Inside an agent in Agentforce Builder That agent's subagent and version only Changes apply only to that version

Asset library (Setup → Agentforce Assets → Actions → New Agent Action) Can be added to multiple agents, versions, and subagents Later asset library edits don't sync to copies already added

A newly created action is automatically added to the subagent's reasoning actions , so the LLM can select it. To run it deterministically instead, reference it with run in the reasoning instructions. You can also keep an action defined but remove it from reasoning actions so only logic can call it.

Loading diagram... From reference functionality to agent behavior

Permissions for Running Actions

Access to a custom action depends on the functionality it references. A flow-based action follows the permissions, field-level security, and sharing configured in that flow. Salesforce lists these common requirements, assigned to the end user for Employee agents or to the agent user for Service agents:

  • The agent uses… Required access
  • Prompt templates , including through actions Prompt Template User permission set
  • Flows Run Flows permission, or access to individual flows
  • Apex classes Apex Class Access for the specific classes

Knowledge and Data 360 (Data Library, Answer Questions with Knowledge) Allow View Knowledge , Access Conversation Entries , Data Cloud User permission set, data category visibility, and least-privilege Knowledge object access

To create custom actions, you need Manage AI Agents plus the permissions for your agent type. Creating or modifying the underlying prompt templates requires Prompt Template Manager , and flows require Manage Flow . Don't assign agent-creation permissions to end users or to the agent user.

Choosing the Right Action: Scenario Table

  • Requirement Best choice
  • Answer policy questions from knowledge articles with citations Answer Questions with Knowledge + Data Library
  • Enforce "refunds only within 30 days" reliably Custom flow action that evaluates the rule, not an instruction
  • Generate a tailored apology email draft Prompt template action (or Draft or Revise Email)
  • Call a third-party REST API with an OpenAPI spec, no code External service action
  • Reuse a governed enterprise API across systems MuleSoft API action
  • Prevent accidental cancellation of a subscription Turn on Require user confirmation
  • Exam Traps

Descriptions drive tool selection. A vague action description causes wrong or missed invocations.

Record-triggered and screen flows aren't reference actions for agents. Use autolaunched flows.

An output that isn't included in agent context can't inform reasoning.

Standard action copies don't auto-update. Re-add updated asset library actions to agents.