Getting Started with Agentforce Service Agent: A Practical Guide

What We’re Building

By the end of this guide, you’ll have a working Agentforce Service Agent that can:

Answer common customer questions using your knowledge base
Create and update cases
Escalate to human agents when needed
Operate 24/7 without supervision

Let’s get started.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have:

[ ] Salesforce Enterprise Edition or higher
[ ] Agentforce license enabled
[ ] Service Cloud configured with cases
[ ] Knowledge articles published (at least 10-20 for good coverage)
[ ] System Administrator access

Step 1: Enable Agentforce

First, enable Agentforce in your org.

Go to Setup → Agentforce → Settings
Toggle Enable Agentforce to On
Accept the terms of service
Click Save

You’ll see the Agentforce Builder appear in your Setup menu.

Step 2: Create Your Agent

Now let’s create the Service Agent.

Navigate to Setup → Agentforce → Agents
Click New Agent
Select Service Agent template
Name it something clear: “Customer Support Agent” or “Help Desk Agent”
Set the description (this helps with maintenance later)

Step 3: Configure Knowledge Sources

Your agent needs information to answer questions. Connect it to your knowledge base.

In the Agent Builder:

Go to the Knowledge tab
Click Add Knowledge Source
Select Salesforce Knowledge
Choose which article types to include
Set the data categories (if you use them)

Pro tip: Start with your most-viewed articles. You can always expand later.

Step 4: Define Agent Instructions

This is where you tell your agent how to behave. Think of it as training a new employee.

Sample instructions:

You are a helpful customer support agent for [Company Name].

Your primary goals:
1. Answer customer questions accurately using the knowledge base
2. Create cases for issues you cannot resolve
3. Escalate to human agents for complex or sensitive issues

Tone and style:
- Be friendly and professional
- Use simple, clear language
- Acknowledge the customer's frustration when appropriate
- Never make promises about timelines without confirmation

Escalation triggers:
- Customer expresses anger or threatens to cancel
- Issue involves billing disputes over $500
- Technical issues affecting multiple users
- Any mention of legal action or regulatory complaints

When creating cases:
- Always capture the customer's email and description
- Set priority based on business impact
- Include conversation context in the case description

Step 5: Set Up Actions

Actions are what your agent can actually do. Configure these:

Action 1: Search Knowledge

Type: Knowledge Search
Purpose: Find relevant articles
Configuration: Default settings work well

Action 2: Create Case

Type: Record Create
Object: Case
Required fields: Subject, Description, Contact, Priority
Auto-mapping: Enable context auto-fill

Action 3: Escalate to Human

Type: Transfer to Agent
Queue: Your service queue
Message: “Transferring you to a specialist who can help further.”

Action 4: Update Case

Type: Record Update
Object: Case
Allowed fields: Status, Priority, Description (append)

Step 6: Configure Channels

Where will customers interact with your agent?

Web Chat (most common):

Go to Channels tab
Click Add Channel
Select Embedded Service Chat
Configure the chat window appearance
Generate the deployment code

Email (optional):

Add Email channel
Configure email-to-case routing
Set response templates

Step 7: Test Your Agent

Before going live, test thoroughly.

Testing checklist:

[ ] Ask questions from your knowledge base (should find answers)
[ ] Ask questions NOT in your knowledge base (should offer to create case)
[ ] Test escalation triggers (should transfer appropriately)
[ ] Try edge cases (empty messages, special characters, multiple questions)
[ ] Test on mobile devices
[ ] Have someone unfamiliar with the system try it

How to test:

Click Test Agent in the Agent Builder
Use the preview chat window
Or deploy to a sandbox first

Step 8: Deploy to Production

Ready to go live? Here’s the process:

Soft launch: Enable for internal team first (1 week)
Limited rollout: Enable for 10% of traffic (2 weeks)
Full deployment: Expand to all users

Deployment steps:

Go to Activation tab
Set Status to Active
Configure business hours (or leave 24/7)
Set backup queue for after-hours
Click Deploy

Step 9: Monitor and Optimize

Your agent is live. Now monitor its performance.

Key metrics to track:

Resolution rate (target: 60%+ without human escalation)
Customer satisfaction scores
Average handle time
Escalation rate by reason

Weekly optimization tasks:

Review unresolved conversations
Add new knowledge articles for common questions
Refine agent instructions based on edge cases
Update escalation rules as needed

Common Issues and Solutions

“Agent can’t find answers in knowledge base”

Check article publish status
Verify data category assignments
Review search term mapping

“Too many escalations”

Adjust escalation thresholds
Add more knowledge content
Refine agent instructions

“Customers frustrated with agent”

Review conversation logs
Improve handoff experience
Add more personality to responses

What’s Next?

Once your Service Agent is running smoothly:

Add more channels (SMS, social media)
Expand knowledge coverage
Build a Sales Agent or Lead Qualification Agent
Connect to external systems via API actions

Need help implementing your first Agentforce agent? We specialize in getting teams up and running quickly.

Book an implementation consultation →