5 Easy (and Free) Ways You Can Skill Up for AI Agents
AI agents have been described as a generational shift akin to cloud and mobile. These learning modules will give you the skills you need to ride the wave.
The widespread adoption of generative artificial intelligence (AI) has happened at an astonishingly fast pace. Now, AI agents are rapidly becoming integral to business operations, streamlining workflows, orchestrating complex tasks with minimal oversight, and transforming industries in real time. Half of all companies that use generative AI today will launch AI agents by 2027.
The question is, does your organization have the skills required to be agent-first? Here, we’ll share some of our best AI agent learning content on Trailhead, Salesforce’s free online learning platform, to help you get the skills you need to succeed.
What is upskilling?
Upskilling is learning new skills for a different or expanded job function. For example, with training, a web designer could grow into a career in application development or UX design. Upskilling can occur either on the job, as an employer-supported initiative, or on your own.
Learning new skills can also be the key to breaking into a new industry or role. Look at it as an investment in your professional success.
Learn AI, or get left behind
AI agents have been described as a generational platform shift skin to cloud and mobile. These shifts “don’t just spark new applications, they ignite entirely new economies,” noted venture firm Felicis. For example, the iPhone created the app economy, and social media sprung the creator economy. The firm believes we are now entering the agent economy.
That is creating urgency for all workers to become knowledgeable about AI and AI agents. But there’s a lot of work to do. In fact, many CIOs recognize the need for AI training but don’t provide it. And among workers who cited AI as their biggest skills gap, 74% said their organization’s training programs were average to poor.
Many workers say their company’s professional development initiatives are ineffective, because they lack the time to engage, and because the learning formats are not user friendly. Trailhead was built to be user-friendly, with interactive modules, hands-on challenges, and a gamified approach that makes learning accessible to everyone.
Here are five essential AI agent modules, bite-size learning units (we call them badges, which you earn after successfully completing the module) that guide you through specific topics, on Trailhead:
Agentforce Agents: Quick Look
Learn how these autonomous apps use LLMs and context to assist customers and human agents.
This learning module will help you understand what an autonomous agent is, and how it helps you get work done. Topics covered include key components of an agent, the Agentforce reasoning engine, and how an agent takes action.
Earn the Agentforce Agents badge
Agentforce Service Agent: Quick Look
Learn what an Agentforce Service Agent is, and how it’s different from a chatbot.
AI agents are already transforming customer service. In this module, you’ll learn what a service agent is, its benefits, the different types of service agents, how to set one up, and how it’s very different from a bot.
Earn the Agentforce Service Agent badge
Agentforce for Developers
Learn how Agentforce for Developers boosts productivity.
With these agents, you can use chat and prompts to generate code, see code completion suggestions as you type, quickly generate unit tests, and more.
Earn the Agentforce for Developers badge
Agentforce Sales Agent: Quick Look
Learn the basics of Agentforce for Sales, including the difference between Agentforce Sales Development Representative (SDR) and Agentforce Sales Coach and which one is right for your organization.
Earn the Agentforce Sales Agent badge
Quick Start: Build Your First Agent with Agentforce
Learn how to create an Agentforce Service Agent, add a data library to the agent, associate topics and actions to the agent, build custom agent actions, and update existing deployment flows.
How we built an agent in 5 days
Salesforce engineers were tasked with building an AI agent for a high-profile event, on a very tight timeline. Here’s how they did it using Agentforce.
