The Process Layer – Where Logic Meets Autonomy

5 Aug

This is Part 3 of our 5 part series on Agentic AI in Salesforce

We are breaking down what it actually takes to build Agentic AI in practice, from foundational data through to execution and operational readiness. This article is about the structure that lets agents act with purpose: the process layer.

You would not hand over control to a junior hire without a playbook. Same goes for AI.

The process layer is what defines the boundaries, expectations, and logic for Agentic AI. It is the middle layer that connects context with action. It gives structure to delegation.

In Salesforce, this means Flows, Flow Orchestration, Apex logic, custom metadata, decision frameworks, and system events, configured in a way that lets agents do their job without making a mess.

Agents need boundaries, not just brains

An agent that understands a record still needs to know what to do with it.

Should it respond immediately, wait for a threshold, escalate, loop in a human, or close the case? These are not decisions baked into AI models. They are rules you define in the system.

The best Agentic AI builds do not rely on the AI to guess what action to take. They rely on the process layer to:

Determine what outcomes are allowed
Identify when to escalate or stop
Control what systems are affected
Handle exceptions and retries
Delegate parts of the process to humans when needed

This is where Agent Builder and Flow Orchestration come together. You can now build fully autonomous, multistep journeys with branching logic, system calls, and human input. But it only works if the logic is watertight.

Common friction points

Most orgs get stuck here because:

Flow logic is scattered and undocumented
Automation overlaps or conflicts across teams
There is no clear error handling path
Business rules are embedded in Apex and hard to manage
No one owns orchestration end to end

This is where we see Agentic AI builds collapse. Agents need predictable scaffolding. If your process architecture is chaotic, they will hit edge cases, fail silently, or take the wrong action.

What We Lead Out recommends

When we assess the process layer, we look at:

Flow Inventory – Are processes modular, documented, and reusable?
Ownership Model – Who defines business rules, and where are they stored?
Orchestration Map – Are steps and escalations clearly defined?
Control Points – What happens if something goes wrong?
Delegation Zones – Where should humans remain in the loop?

Agents should not replace process. They should operate within it.

In Part 4, we will move into execution. That means Agentforce, Prompt Builder, and the architecture of intelligent action. It is where everything comes together, but only if your data and process layers are tight.