Intro to AI Agents: Build Your First Safe Workflow

AI agents can research, use tools, edit files, run commands, and complete multi-step work. The hard part is not finding an agent. It is choosing a useful first task and giving the agent enough authority to help without giving it enough authority to surprise you.

This course shows you how agents differ from chatbots and fixed automations, then maps the current options across ChatGPT Work, Claude Cowork, Codex, Claude Code, Workspace Agents, Skills, plugins, MCP, Hermes, OpenClaw, and production SDKs. You will create an Agent Brief, run one bounded task in draft-only mode, verify the evidence, test failure behavior, and decide whether the workflow is ready to reuse or schedule.

You leave with a complete first-agent package: a product decision, an Agent Brief, a safety checklist, a schedule-readiness test, and reusable starter prompts.

What you'll learn: 

  • Distinguish an AI agent from a chatbot or fixed automation.
  • Choose the right agent environment for a bounded workplace task.
  • Write an Agent Brief with permissions, stop rules, tests, and success evidence.
  • Run, verify, and improve an agent inside a safe working environment.
  • Decide when a workflow is ready to reuse, schedule, share, self-host, or deploy.
You do not need to code to complete the core course project. Technical and self-hosted paths are explained so you can recognize when they apply, not because every beginner needs them.
  • 66m of video instruction
  • 6 lessons
Patrick Jones - Course author
Meet YOUR instructor

Grant Harvey

Grant is the voice of The Neuron, the daily newsletter delivering no-hype insights on how AI is changing the world around us, along with co-hosting The Neuron’s weekly podcast.