Within the Agentforce platform, custom actions provide a method to initiate automated processes directly from a record page. One of the primary types of automation that can be invoked by a custom action is a Flow. This allows a Specialist to create guided, screen-based wizards or trigger complex background business logic declaratively. When configuring a custom action, selecting 'Flow' as the action type enables the Specialist to choose a specific active screen flow to launch when the user clicks the action button, enhancing user productivity and ensuring process consistency.

A. Apex Trigger: Apex Triggers are not directly invokable by custom actions; they execute automatically in response to data manipulation language (DML) events like record creation, updates, or deletions.

B. SOQL: SOQL (Salesforce Object Query Language) is a data retrieval language used within other tools like Apex or Flows. It is not an executable action type that can be selected for a custom action.

1. Agentforce Official Documentation

"Action Types

" Section: Custom Actions.

Reference Detail: This document specifies the available types for custom actions. It explicitly lists "Flow" as a primary option

allowing users to launch screen flows. It also lists other types like "Create a Record" and "Update a Record

" but does not list Apex Triggers or SOQL as directly selectable action types. (Corresponds to Salesforce Help

"Action Types").

2. Agentforce Official Documentation

"Flows Overview

" Section: Distribute a Flow.

Reference Detail: This guide details the various methods for exposing a flow to users. It confirms that flows can be distributed by creating a custom action on a specific object's page layout

making the flow accessible as a button or link. (Corresponds to Salesforce Help

"Distribute a Flow").

3. Agentforce Developer Guide

"Actions

" Section: Action Types.

Reference Detail: The developer documentation outlines the programmatic and declarative capabilities of actions. It categorizes "Flow" as a distinct action type that can be associated with a custom button

contrasting it with Apex

which is invoked through different mechanisms (e.g.

Visualforce pages called by an action

not triggers). (Corresponds to Salesforce Developer Documentation

"Actions Overview").