# Building AI Agents

Design, build, and deploy secure and efficient AI agents using <ProductName />.

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## About This Task

In <ProductName />, you can build AI agents using the `Agent` component incorporated into a pipeline. The `Agent` is a pipeline component that uses an LLM to call tools and reason about its actions. You can include multiple Agents in a pipeline and connect them to other components to build complex systems.

### When to Use an Agent

Building an AI Agent makes sense for the following use cases:
- Multi-step tasks that require reasoning and decision-making. Cases when you can't predict the exact sequence of steps and the tools to use at each step. Examples:
    - Debugging code where the Agent needs to make hypotheses and try different solutions based on what it discovers.
- Tool orchestration where tasks require coordinating multiple tools or APIs. Examples:
    - An Agent deciding whether to query a database, search the web, or call an API based on the user's question.
- Dynamic planning when the path to the solution varies based on the user's input. Examples:
    - Customer support Agents that need to check the order status, process returns, or answer questions about the product based on the user's input.

### When an Agent Might Be Too Complex

An Agent is a powerful tool but for some use cases it might be an overkill. Consider using a simpler alternative if:
- The workflow is predictable. You can map out the logic and steps in advance. 
- Your application must be fast. Agents require multiple LLM calls which increases the response time. 
- Your application must be predictable and highly reliable. Agents are less predictable and may be harder to control and debug. 

For these use cases, a pipeline with tool calling or conditional routing may be a better fit. For approaches alternative to Agents, see [Agentic Pipelines](/docs/concepts/ai-agents/agentic-pipelines.mdx).

# Build an Agent

1. [Build a minimal Agent pipeline.](/docs/how-to-guides/building-agents/creating-minimal-agent.mdx)
2. [Configure the Agent's model, prompt, and tools.](/docs/how-to-guides/building-agents/configuring-agent.mdx)
3. [Configure the Agent's Advanced Settings](/docs/how-to-guides/building-agents/configuring-agent-advanced.mdx)