One question picks agent or workflow

Before you build an AI agent, ask one question. Most people skip it and spend a week building the wrong thing.

Can you write the task out as step one, step two, step three, and run it the same way every time?

If yes, you want a workflow.

A workflow follows the exact path you set. Every run is the same. It is reliable and fast. My Monday report is a workflow. It pulls my numbers, formats them, and lands in my inbox before I sit down. Same job, same way, every week.

If you cannot write the steps out in advance, because the right next move depends on what just arrived, that is where an agent belongs.

With an agent, you give it a goal and the tools it needs, and it works out the path on its own. Categorising this week's customer service tickets is an agent's job. Every ticket is different, so there is no script. I hand it the goal and let it reason through each one.

Agents are more powerful than workflows, and more unpredictable. Reaching for an agent when a workflow would have done the job costs you money, because you end up with something unpredictable doing work that should have been boring and reliable.

Ask the one question first. Can I write these steps out in advance?

Comment the word RESULT and I'll send you my cheat sheet for picking the right one every time.