Behind the Craft AI Agents, Clearly Explained in 40 Minutes | Wade Foster (Zapier)
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Oct 26, 2025 
Wade Foster, co-founder and CEO of Zapier, dives deep into the reality of AI workflows versus agents. He provides a practical demo of his AI tool that triages over 100 emails down to 10 key messages. Wade argues that many requests for 'agents' are better served by automation modules and shares insights on building specialized agents. His thoughts on the current AI landscape emphasize the importance of human oversight, while debunking myths about Zapier's relevance, showing that it remains essential for effective automation in businesses.
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AI Automation Is A Spectrum
- AI automation exists on a spectrum from deterministic workflows to full agentic reasoning.
- The most reliable, cost-effective solutions today live in the middle: AI workflows or agentic workflows.
Email Agent That Cuts Inbox To 10
- Wade built an email-categorization agent that trims 100+ daily emails down to fewer than ten needing his attention.
- The agent labels, enriches with HubSpot data, applies actions, and archives or routes items automatically.
Build Trust By Starting Small
- Start agents with safe, non-destructive actions like labeling or drafting before granting send permissions.
- Gradually increase automation as the agent proves reliability to avoid inbox mishaps.
