4 AI workflows that are just scripts (and the one that actually needs an agent)

If the steps are always the same you do not need an agent… you need a script. Agents are for when the path changes based on what they find. This is something that happens often than people say it does. There are 4 examples that people tell me are agents but in reality they are really not :) Sending a reminder when a date hits, that is a scheduled job. 2. Moving data from one app to another on a trigger that is a webhook and an if-statement. Sorting emails into folders by sender or keyword that is rules, NOT reasoning. 4.Generating the weekly report from the same dashboard that is a template and a cron job. All four of these examples are cheaper, faster and way more reliable as scripts. Adding a model around them just adds cost and new ways for things to go wrong. I've built around 40 something automations for clients, and most of the things people call AI agents are just scripts wearing a costume.I had one situation where an agent was actually an idea. It was a support inbox where every message was different... Some messages were about refunds ,some were about bugs some were from people ,some needed a human to help and some could be answered by looking at the documentation. The path changed for each message so it needed something that could read, decide and route on the fly….yk that is the thing. If you have input and decisions that branch out in different ways and you do not have fixed steps then you need an agent. If you can draw your workflow as a flowchart, with no boxes that say "it depends" then you can use a script. You should save the agent for the messy stuff.