--- schema_version: "1" id: 48e97d5ca73e151fa6dbbb057ea0b1aed3a1d30f521cb808a001cccfeed4b07f title: Create an Agent from an Agentforce Service Agent Template collection: admin version: current locale: en-us portal_url: https://docs.salesforce.com/admin/current/en-us/ai/264-0-0/service_agent_setup.md canonical_url: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=ai.service_agent_setup.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 source_site: help.salesforce.com content_type: documentation content_hash: 2bef938e061d4cd0534220f147a74b95a94646b721cfa3673fe110d26a443851 description: Agentforce Service agents intelligently support your customers by connecting to messaging and other channels and escalating to reps when necessary. Use the default Agentforce Service Agent template to create an agent designed to resolve common support cases and requests. Or select from more specialized templates to fit your use case. products: - Agentforce - Cross Cloud release: "264" --- # Create an Agent from an Agentforce Service Agent Template Agentforce Service agents intelligently support your customers by connecting to messaging and other channels and escalating to reps when necessary. Use the default Agentforce Service Agent template to create an agent designed to resolve common support cases and requests. Or select from more specialized templates to fit your use case. ### Required Editions
Available in: Lightning Experience
Available in: Enterprise, Performance, Unlimited, and Developer Editions. Required add-on licenses vary by agent type.
User Permissions Needed  
To build and manage Service Agents:

Manage Agentforce Service Agents AND Manage AI Agents

OR

Customize Application
- **[Configure Service Agent Access](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=ai.agent_user.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5)** Learn how Agentforce Service agents control data access. Set up an agent user for your Agentforce Service agent and assign permissions, so your agent has everything it needs to do its job. - **[Configure Service Agent Managers](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=ai.service_agent_managers.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5)** When Service agents are enabled for your Salesforce org, Salesforce admins can create and edit service agents. To define other users as Service agent managers so that they can also create and edit service agents, assign those users the Manage Agentforce Service Agents permission set. #### See Also - [_Trailhead_: Quick Start: Build a Service Agent with Agentforce](https://trailhead.salesforce.com/content/learn/projects/quick-start-build-your-first-agent-with-agentforce) - [_Agentforce Workshop_: Get Hands On with Service Agents](https://developer.salesforce.com/agentforce-workshop/service-agents/overview) ## Create an Agent from a Service Agent Template Before you begin, [set up Einstein Generative AI](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=ai.generative_ai_enable.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Set up Einstein generative AI to get access to powerful generative AI features.") and [enable Agentforce](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=ai.agent_setup_enable.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Turn on Agentforce to start building, customizing, testing, and launching AI agents."). 1. From the App Launcher, enter `Agent`, and then select **Agentforce Studio**. 2. On the Agents tab, click **New Agent**. 3. Select an Agentforce Service agent template. Under Agent Details, select or create an **Agent's User Record** for this agent. To securely access data and perform actions, Service agents operate as an agent user, or a Salesforce integration user with all the permissions that the agent needs to do its job. See [Best Practices for Agent User Permissions](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=ai.agent_user.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Learn how Agentforce Service agents control data access. Set up an agent user for your Agentforce Service agent and assign permissions, so your agent has everything it needs to do its job."). 4. Enter the agent's name and then click **Let's Go**. 5. In the Settings section, define the settings that determine how your agent behaves in conversations, such as [system messages](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=ai.copilot_setup_system_messages.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Agent-level instructions provide your agent with guidance on how to interact in all situations, including any rules it should follow. Your agent sends system messages, such as welcome and error messages, when your users begins chatting with an agent and if they encounter system errors.") and [language settings](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=ai.copilot_setup_tone.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Change the language and tone of your agent’s messages to better suit your company’s brand."). 6. In the Subagents section, manage and customize your agent's [subagents](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=ai.agent_topics_manage.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Add and remove subagents from your agent. Create custom subagents. Manage subagents in the asset library.") and [actions](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=ai.agent_actions_custom.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "You can create a custom action from the asset library or from within an agent in Agentforce Builder. When you create an action from the asset library, it’s available to add to multiple agents and versions. When you create an action from within an agent in Agentforce Builder, it’s available only to that agent."). 7. In the Data section, select a data library. The Answer Questions with Knowledge action grounds your agent's responses with it. To create or manage data libraries, see [Setting Up Data Libraries](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=ai.data_library_setup.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Use Agentforce Data Library to configure the Knowledge Action and enhance the accuracy of AI in your features."). 8. Click Preview to test out your agent and confirm that it performs as expected and meets your security standards. You can simulate your agent’s behavior with mock data without risking any changes to your actual data or org. Use trace to dig into the steps the agent performed, and ask Agent Optimizer to help you understand your agent’s behavior at any step. See [Preview and Test in Agentforce Builder](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=ai.agent_preview_and_test.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Manual testing, like you do in Agentforce Builder, is the starting point for validating your agent’s performance. It offers a detailed, step-by-step evaluation of your agent's interactions and utterances and is especially effective for confirming configurations and exploring how the agent responds to different inputs. Throughout the agent lifecycle, plan to revisit manual testing in Agentforce Builder, especially after making changes to your agent.") for more details. 9. Connect your agent to service channels to transfer agent conversations. See [Connect an Agent to Messaging](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=ai.agent_parent_deploy_messaging.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Route conversations to your Agentforce Service agents and Agentforce Employee agents with messaging channels, including Enhanced Chat and other enhanced messaging channels. Learn how to use context variables, multiple languages, and progess indicators in messaging channels.") for more information on deploying your agent to a Messaging channel. 10. When you’re ready to use your agent outside of the builder, click Commit Version. You must commit an agent version before you can activate it. Committed versions can’t be edited. To continue making changes after committing, create a new version by clicking New Version. See [Versioning and Editing Agents](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=ai.agent_versions_lifecycle.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Learn about the different states of agents as you create and iterate on your agents, including editable states and how to version your agent.") for more information. 11. When you're ready, [activate your agent](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=ai.copilot_setup_activate_deactivate.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Activate your agent to make it available to your customers or employees. When an agent is deployed to one or more channels, including the Agentforce panel, activating the agent makes it immediately available to your users."). ## Create an Agent from a Service Agent Template in the Legacy Agentforce Builder ![Note](https://sf-zdocs-cdn-prod.zoominsoftware.com/tdta-ai-generative_ai-264-0-0-production-enus/f8ef6498-d7b2-44e3-9b34-ffd5a850aae9/images/icon_note.png) Note Starting the week of July 13, 2026, you can no longer create agents in the legacy Agentforce Builder in Setup. Instead, create an agent in Agentforce Builder in Agentforce Studio. Or [upgrade an agent](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=ai.agent_setup_create_upgrade.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Create a new version of an agent from the legacy Agentforce Builder in Setup in the new Agentforce Builder in Agentforce Studio, with just a few clicks. The new version contains all of the original agent's subagents, actions, system messages and settings, data, and connections, converted to Agent Script. Upgrading an agent doesn't affect the original agent in the legacy builder. You can continue to access and edit the agent in the legacy builder.") from the legacy builder to the new builder. For the latest features and enhancements, we recommend migrating existing agents from the legacy builder to the new builder. [Learn more.](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=ai.agent_migrate_parent.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "If you’re an Agentforce customer using agents you built in our legacy builder, this guide is for you. It’s a centralized resource for migrating your existing agents from the legacy Agentforce Builder in Salesforce Setup to the new Agentforce Builder in the Agentforce Studio app. It helps you decide if, why, and how to migrate, and it covers the tools and guidance you need to make your migration cost- and time-effective. Use it to go from a prompt-based, sometimes unpredictable agent to a precise, reliable agent that reasons when it has to and just gets things done when it doesn’t.") 1. From Setup, in the Quick Find box, enter Agent, and then select **Agentforce Agents**. 2. Click **New Agent**. 3. Select **Create from a Template**. Select the template that you want to use to create an agent, and then click **Next**. 4. Review the subagents that come with your template. You can customize these subagents and actions later, but if any of them don’t apply to your use cases, remove them. Then click **Next**. 5. Give your agent a unique name, API name, description, role, and company. The description field is used by you and others in your org to identify your agent. The role and company fields are used by your agent to help it understand its responsibilities and the company that it represents. 6. Under Agent User, select **New Agent User**. Then click **Next**. To securely access data and perform actions, Service agents operate as an agent user—a Salesforce integration user with all the permissions that the agent needs to do its job. Creating a new agent user in the guided setup creates an agent user record with minimal access so that your agent is secure by default. Grant the agent the additional access that it needs. See [Best Practices for Agent User Permissions](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=ai.agent_user.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Learn how Agentforce Service agents control data access. Set up an agent user for your Agentforce Service agent and assign permissions, so your agent has everything it needs to do its job."). 7. Select **Keep a record of conversations with enhanced event logs to review agent behavior**. See [Enable Enhanced Event Logs](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=ai.copilot_setup_enhanced_event_logs.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Event logs capture the events and user messages in an agent session to help you test and troubleshoot your agent. In supported agent types, enable enhanced event logs to store conversation data and view all session activity in one place. When enhanced event logs aren't enabled, events associated with agent and user messages (such as Message sent: and User response:) are logged, but the messages themselves aren't included in the event."). 8. Select a data source to ground your agent responses with the Answer Questions with Knowledge action. To continue without selecting any data sources, leave this field blank. You can add and remove data sources later. Then click **Create**. If you don't want to use any of the available data sources, you can create a library to limit Agentforce Service agents to specific articles or uploaded files. See [Use the Answer Questions with Knowledge Action](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=ai.agent_setup_data_sources.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Connect your agent to a data library for structured, citation-rich responses grounded in your indexed content."). 9. From the Settings page, define your agent's settings, such as [system messages](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=ai.copilot_setup_system_messages.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Agent-level instructions provide your agent with guidance on how to interact in all situations, including any rules it should follow. Your agent sends system messages, such as welcome and error messages, when your users begins chatting with an agent and if they encounter system errors.") and [language settings](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=ai.copilot_setup_tone.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Change the language and tone of your agent’s messages to better suit your company’s brand."). These settings determine how agents behave and present themselves in conversations. 10. Back in the builder, [configure your agent with subagents, actions, and other agent assets.](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=ai.agent_parent_configure.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Customize your agent so that it fits your company’s use cases. Learn how to use Agentforce Builder and agent assets, including subagents, actions, filters, and variables, so that you can customize out-of-the-box solutions or create your own.") 11. Test your agent in Agentforce Builder to confirm that your agent performs as expected and [meets your security standards](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=ai.service_agent_secure_actions.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Agents connected to employee channels, such as Lightning Experience, the Salesforce mobile app, and Slack, limit access to subagents and actions by default, based on the end user's context. Agentforce Service agents connected to customer channels, such as enhanced Messaging channels and Enhanced Chat, require additional configuration to ensure secure access. As you configure your agent, it's important to think through the security and identification requirements for your use case and only grant your agents the actions and access required to complete the tasks you want them to be able to complete autonomously on behalf of your customers. For sensitive actions, we recommend building customer verification directly into the action’s flow."). The service agent operates in the same Agent User context here as it does when deployed in messaging channels, so design-time testing reflects how your service agent behaves when deployed. 12. [Connect your service agent to channels](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=ai.agent_parent_deploy.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Connect your agent to multiple channels. Meet your customers and employees where they spend the most time.") and [configure the escalation subagent](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=ai.service_agent_escalation.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "When an agent encounters conversations that it can’t resolve, it uses the Escalation subagent to escalate the conversation. In the new Agentforce Builder, you can also run the Escalation subagent using the escalate utility function in Agent Script. Escalation and transferring works differently depending on the agent type and channel. You can customize the experience that customers receive when transferring isn’t possible.") to transfer agent conversations. 13. When you're ready, [activate your agent](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=ai.copilot_setup_activate_deactivate.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Activate your agent to make it available to your customers or employees. When an agent is deployed to one or more channels, including the Agentforce panel, activating the agent makes it immediately available to your users.").