﻿---
title: Call Elastic Agent Builder agents from Elastic Workflows
description: Learn how to invoke AI agents in Elastic Workflows using the `ai.agent` or `kibana.request` steps to add reasoning to your automated tasks.
url: https://www.elastic.co/elastic/docs-builder/docs/2667/explore-analyze/ai-features/agent-builder/agents-and-workflows
products:
  - Elastic Cloud Serverless
  - Elastic Observability
  - Elastic Security
  - Elasticsearch
  - Kibana
applies_to:
  - Elastic Cloud Serverless: Preview
  - Elastic Stack: Preview since 9.3
---

# Call Elastic Agent Builder agents from Elastic Workflows
Elastic Workflows and Elastic Agent Builder allow you to combine deterministic automation with conversational reasoning. By invoking an AI agent directly within a workflow execution, you can treat the agent as a "reasoning engine" that summarizes data, classifies events, or makes decisions before passing the results to the next step in your automation.
<note>
  This guide explains how to call an agent from a workflow. If you want to trigger a workflow in an agent conversation, you need to create a custom [workflow tool](https://www.elastic.co/elastic/docs-builder/docs/2667/explore-analyze/ai-features/agent-builder/tools/workflow-tools).
</note>


## Approaches

There are two ways to integrate agents into your workflows:
- **The `ai.agent` step:** A simplified shorthand step for common operations. Use this when you want to send a prompt to an agent and receive a text response without complex configuration.
- **The `kibana.request` step:** A generic step that provides full access to the Elastic Agent Builder APIs. Use this for advanced use cases, such as listing available agents or managing agent sessions programmatically.


## Prerequisites

Before you begin:
- Familiarize yourself with the core concepts of [Elastic Workflows](https://www.elastic.co/elastic/docs-builder/docs/2667/explore-analyze/workflows).
- Enable the Workflows feature in **Advanced settings**.
- Ensure you have the correct privileges to create and run workflows.
- For details, refer to [Set up workflows](https://www.elastic.co/elastic/docs-builder/docs/2667/explore-analyze/workflows/setup).
- Create at least one workflow.


## Use the `ai.agent` step

Follow these steps to invoke an `ai.agent` as a step within a workflow.
1. Open the **Workflows** editor and create or edit a workflow.
2. Add a new step with the type `ai.agent`.
3. Configure the **`agent_id`** parameter with the unique identifier of the target agent.
4. Configure the **`message`** parameter with your natural language prompt.


### Example: Analyze flight delays

The following example demonstrates a workflow that searches for flight delays and uses the **Elastic AI Agent** to summarize the impact. To follow along with this example ensure that the [Kibana sample flight data](https://www.elastic.co/docs/extend/kibana/sample-data) is installed.
```yaml
version: "1"
name: analyze_flight_delays
description: Fetches delayed flights and uses an agent to summarize the impact.
enabled: true
triggers:
  - type: manual
steps:
  # Step 1: Get data from Elasticsearch
  - name: get_delayed_flights
    type: elasticsearch.search
    with:
      index: "kibana_sample_data_flights"
      query:
        range:
          FlightDelayMin:
            gt: 60
      size: 5

  # Step 2: Ask the agent to reason over the data
  - name: summarize_delays
    type: ai.agent
    with:
      agent_id: "elastic-ai-agent" 
      message: | 
        Review the following flight delay records and summarize which airlines are most affected and the average delay time:
        {{ steps.get_delayed_flights.output }}

  # Step 3: Print the agent's summary
  - name: print_summary
    type: console
    with:
      message: "{{ steps.summarize_delays.output }}"
```


## Use `kibana.request` step

Use the generic `kibana.request` step to interact with Elastic Agent Builder APIs programmatically.
1. Add a new step with the type `kibana.request`.
2. Set the method (for example: `GET`, `POST`).
3. Set the `path` to the specific [Agent Builder API endpoint](https://www.elastic.co/docs/api/doc/kibana/group/endpoint-agent-builder).


### Example: List available agents

This step retrieves a list of all agents currently available in Agent Builder.
```yaml
name: list_agents
enabled: true
triggers:
  - type: manual
steps:
  - name: list_agents
    type: kibana.request
    with:
      method: GET
      path: /api/agent_builder/agents
```


## Examples

The [`elastic/workflows` GitHub repo](https://github.com/elastic/workflows) contains more than 50 examples you can use as a starting point.

## Related pages

- [Tools overview](https://www.elastic.co/elastic/docs-builder/docs/2667/explore-analyze/ai-features/agent-builder/tools)
- [Workflow tools](https://www.elastic.co/elastic/docs-builder/docs/2667/explore-analyze/ai-features/agent-builder/tools/workflow-tools)
- [Workflows](https://www.elastic.co/elastic/docs-builder/docs/2667/explore-analyze/workflows)
- [Agent Builder API](https://www.elastic.co/docs/api/doc/kibana/group/endpoint-agent-builder)