Agentic workflows matter when the path through a task varies from case to case. A fixed automation follows the same route every time, while an agentic workflow can read a supplier email, look up the order in the ERP, notice a missing delivery date and draft a query to the buyer.
The common misconception is that more autonomy means more value. Each extra decision the AI makes is another place it can go wrong, so well-designed agentic workflows keep the number of choices small, log every step and send consequential actions, such as changing an order or paying an invoice, to a named person for approval.