Sep 12, 2025
3 min read
How to Create an AI Agent: A Practical Guide for Non‑Technical Teams
Creating an AI agent sounds complex. But in reality, if you know what task you want to automate, you're already halfway there.
Before jumping into any platform, the best way to avoid spinning your wheels is to answer three simple questions
1. What outcome are you trying to automate?
You don’t need to write code. But you do need clarity. Think about the specific task or workflow that’s slowing your team down.
Examples:
“I want to extract data from invoices and log it into my system.”
“I want to triage customer support emails based on urgency.”
“I want to route resumes to the right recruiter.”
If your answer starts with “I want to stop doing…” or “I wish someone could handle…,” you’re in the right mindset.
2. Where does your data come from?
Is the input an email, a PDF, a form, or a CRM event?
Understanding your data source helps Beam know how to trigger the agent and what tools it should use.
For example:
Emails with attachments → connect your inbox
CRM record changes → use webhooks or direct integrations
Uploaded documents → trigger on file input
The more structured the input, the easier it is to automate. But even unstructured data like email threads or PDFs can be handled by Beam’s LLM-powered agents.
3. What should happen once the agent runs?
Do you want the agent to:
Update a record in your CRM?
Send a templated follow-up email?
Route the output to another team?
Knowing the expected output lets you define a “done” state. Beam agents are goal-based, so being clear on the end result helps the system reason more effectively.
Once you know these three things, the goal, the data source, and the desired outcome, you’re ready to build. And with Beam AI, that process starts fast.
Step 1: Start With a Prebuilt Agent Template
The fastest way to build your first agent isn’t to start from scratch. It’s to choose a template that already knows how to do the job.
Beam offers prebuilt agents for common workflows across finance, operations, customer service, and HR. These aren’t just starting points, they come with a full, ready-to-run logic built in.
How Templates Work
Each template includes:
A complete step-by-step flow
Input fields already mapped (like email attachments or form data)
Triggers you can configure with a few clicks
Built-in error handling and fallback steps
You don’t have to design the logic. It’s already there; you just plug in your system, tweak a few settings, and you’re good to go.
Example: Invoice Processing Agent
Let’s say you want to automate invoice handling. Beam’s Invoice Processing Agent already knows how to:
Watch for new invoice emails
Extract key fields like vendor name, amount, and due date
Validate the data
Send it to your ERP or finance system
This agent is ready out of the box. You can customize what fields it extracts or what actions it takes, but you don’t need to build any of that from scratch.
Save Time. Avoid Mistakes. Get to Value Faster.
Templates don’t just make things easier, they prevent you from missing key steps. Every Beam template reflects best practices learned across hundreds of real enterprise workflows.
Step 2: Map the Workflow Visually, No Code Required
Once you've selected a template or created a new agent, you’ll land on the Flow page inside Beam. This is where your agent’s logic lives.
It’s not a code editor. It’s a visual map of the agent’s steps, clear, editable, and built for non-technical users.
See Every Step, End to End
The flow page lays out your agent’s process like a blueprint:
Each node represents a specific action (e.g., extract data, validate fields, send an email)
The lines between steps show how data moves and decisions are made
You can follow the full path from input to output in seconds
This structure helps you spot gaps, edit logic, and understand exactly how your agent works.
Customize Logic with Simple Clicks
You can modify the flow as needed:
Add new steps with one click
Rearrange or remove actions
Use conditions (like “if/else”) to handle exceptions or alternate paths
Insert human-in-the-loop review gates wherever oversight is needed
For example, you might add a decision node that says:
“If invoice total > $10,000, send to finance manager for approval.”
It’s logic building, minus the coding.
Designed for Real-World Complexity
Workflows aren’t always linear. That’s why Beam lets you:
Add branches
Reconnect paths
Loop steps when needed
Even multi-agent collaboration is visual, you can show handoffs between agents on the same screen.
And everything you edit updates instantly, so you can test and deploy without switching tools.
Want to see what a live agent flow looks like?
Step 3: Customize Prompts and Variables
Once your workflow is mapped, it’s time to adjust how each step behaves. In Beam AI, you don’t have to write code, you just update the prompts and variables directly inside the node editor.
This is where the agent becomes truly yours.
What’s a Prompt?
Each node in your agent’s flow uses a prompt to tell the AI what to do.
Examples:
“Extract the invoice number, date, amount, and vendor name from this PDF.”
“Summarize the support email and classify its urgency.”
“Validate the extracted data against the purchase order system.”
Prompts are written in natural language. You can edit them freely to match your tone, your process, or your business logic.
What Are Variables?
Variables tell the agent what data to expect and what to do with it.
For example, in an invoice processing agent:
Input variables: uploaded PDF, sender’s email
Output variables: invoice number, due date, total amount
You can define these directly in the prompt editor, no complex syntax required. Want to pull additional data from a second source? Just add a variable and update the prompt.
Make Every Step Explainable
Because prompts and variables are visible and editable, you can:
See exactly what each step is doing
Fine-tune behavior for edge cases
Ensure outputs match your compliance or formatting standards
No black-box behavior. No guesswork. You stay in control.
Step 4: Connect to Your Systems
Once your agent knows what to do, it needs to know where to do it.
Beam makes it easy to connect your everyday tools, no setup files, no authentication headaches, no dev handoffs.
Plug and Play with Common Platforms
Each step in your agent’s flow can interact with:
Email inboxes (Gmail, Outlook)
CRMs (like Salesforce or HubSpot)
ERPs and finance systems (SAP, QuickBooks, Xero)
Databases, spreadsheets, or APIs
To add a connection:
Click the node where integration is needed
Select Connection
Choose from existing integrations or add a new one
Authorize access, done
Once connected, that step can fetch data, send updates, or trigger downstream workflows.
Example: Finance Workflow
Let’s say your agent extracts data from invoices. You want that data sent to your finance system.
You’d:
Add a node labeled “Update ERP”
Choose SAP from the list of integrations
Map the output fields from your extraction step to the ERP fields
Click Save, and it’s live
No middleware. No custom code. Just pick, map, and go.
Connect Once, Use Everywhere
Once you set up a connection, it becomes reusable. You can:
Use the same CRM integration across multiple agents
Share access across finance, HR, and support agents
Swap connections without rebuilding logic
See how Beam integrates with tools like Gmail, Google Drive, Salesforce, and SAP.
Step 5: Set Triggers to Launch the Agent Automatically
Your agent is mapped. The prompts are ready. Integrations are live.
Now it’s time to decide when and how the agent should run, without manual input. Beam makes triggering your agent as simple as flipping a switch.
Choose How the Agent Starts
You can launch an agent in three main ways:
Email Triggers
Example: “Run this agent every time an email arrives with an invoice attached.”
Just connect your inbox, set a condition (like subject contains "Invoice"), and Beam will watch for new emails that match.
Webhook Triggers
Ideal for form submissions or external systems.
Example: “Trigger the agent when a new lead comes in through our website.”
Scheduled Runs
Example: “Process all untagged invoices in the folder every weekday at 7 PM.”
You don’t need to set up a server or manage schedules. Just define the rule, and Beam handles the rest.
Step 6: Test, Run, and Iterate
Once everything’s connected and your agent is triggered properly, it’s time to run it.
You don’t need a staging environment. You don’t need QA scripts. You just need to try it, and let the agent show you what it can do.
Run a Test Manually
From the flow page:
Click Create Task
Upload a test file (like a sample invoice or resume)
Hit Run
Beam will walk through each step of the agent’s logic and show you:
Which data was extracted
Which integrations were triggered
Whether the output matched your goal
You’ll see the results immediately, along with a full execution trail.
Review and Adjust in Seconds
If something doesn’t work the way you expected:
Tweak a prompt
Add a fallback step
Adjust the variables or trigger logic
Then re-run it. This quick feedback loop helps you go from “almost right” to “fully automated” in just a few iterations, without waiting on an engineer or writing a single line of code.
Build Confidence Before You Go Live
Once the agent runs cleanly and handles edge cases (like missing data or validation errors), it’s ready for real work.
Beam tracks every agent run, so you’ll always have a log of what happened, what was sent, and where.
🧪 Pro tip: Start with a small dataset or a single email to test. Once it runs cleanly, scale it up.
Why This Approach Works for Real Teams
Most automation tools promise power, but bury it under complexity. Beam flips that.
It gives operations, finance, and customer teams the ability to build useful agents — not prototypes, not side projects, but actual workflows that run every day.
And it works because the process is simple, structured, and focused on outcomes.
- Templates Save Time
You don’t start from zero. You pick a template that already understands your workflow, and tweak it to fit.
- Visual Workflows Make It Clear
Every agent is editable in plain view. You see how it works, where data flows, and what happens next — no guessing.
- Triggers and Integrations Are Built In
You don’t need dev support to hook into Gmail, Salesforce, SAP, or Google Drive. Beam handles that in a few clicks.
- You Stay in Control
With editable prompts, human-in-loop review points, and fallback logic, you can trust the agent without giving up oversight.
Conclusion
Automation doesn’t have to be complex. You don’t need a developer on standby, a custom script for every edge case, or weeks of setup time. With Beam, creating an AI agent is something any team can do, quickly, visually, and with confidence. You start by choosing a template that fits your workflow.
You map the steps, customize the logic, and connect the tools you already use. Then you test, launch, and let the agent do the work. It’s not just easier. It’s smarter. Because the best automation isn’t the kind that sits in a backlog waiting for engineering. It’s the kind that you can build, run, and improve, all from your own screen.
