Users need the ability for AI agents to safely retry failed steps without duplicating actions (e.g., sending multiple emails, creating duplicate tickets). This is crucial for production-grade agents, especially in sensitive areas like payment processing.
You can build an AI agent in 10 minutes. But 99% of people will never attempt it: I've built multiple AI agents for Searchable, And I'm still shocked at how easy it is. If you can write a basic checklist, you can build an agent. One that will genuinely save you 100s of hours. Here's exactly how to build one: 1. Pick One Boring Job Choose one painful workflow you repeat weekly. Define success in one sentence: "Given X, the agent should output Y so that Z happens." 2. Map The Steps Like A SOP Turn that job into 4 to 7 clear steps. Write it as: Input → actions → decision → output. 3. Choose Your Agent Platform Decide where this thing lives so you're not reinventing infrastructure. No/low code: OpenAI Agent Builder, Zapier, Make, n8n Dev friendly: LangChain, LangGraph, OpenAI Agents SDK, CrewAI 4. Define Inputs, Outputs, And Tools Treat the agent like an API, not a vague chatbot. Specify inputs: what fields are required (text, file, URL, ID) Define outputs: JSON fields or a fixed template Attach tools: data tools, action tools or orchestration tools 5. Give The Agent A Job Description Write the brain with a clear system prompt: - Role: "You are a [job title] focused on [task]" - Boundaries: what it must never do - Style: concise, structured - 1-2 example conversations 6. Add Memory And Context Stop the agent forgetting everything after each message. Three layers: - Conversation state: pass recent messages - Task memory: store key decisions for the current run - Knowledge memory: connect a vector store over your docs 7. Add Guardrails And Human Checks Mark high-risk actions that need approval. Add simple rules: - Never invent logins or IDs - Ask for clarification when the brief is ambiguous - Log every tool call and decision 8. Wrap It In A Simple Interface Turn the agent into something people will actually use. Options: internal chat, button in an existing app or Slack command 9. Test On 5 Real Tasks Catch issues at the step level, not after it breaks something. For each example: - Watch which tools it called and in what order - Score correctness, steps taken, and time saved - Tighten the prompt, tools, or rules where it failed Businesses adopting AI now will be too far ahead to catch later. If you want to be one of them, you need to start automating your work. Founders who grow fastest aren't working hardest. They're building systems that run without them. This is what we're doing at Searchable. We built an AI system that handles SEO and AEO automatically. It analyses your site, finds opportunities and optimises content. Learn more and get started for free: https://lnkd.in/epgXyFmi ♻️ Repost this to help founders in your network build smarter systems. And follow Chris Donnelly for more on AI and business growth.