What is Workflow Automation?

What workflow automation is

Workflow automation is the use of software to route tasks, approvals, and data through predefined steps. Workflow automation moves work between people. Autonomous Commerce eliminates the workflow by having AI agents execute the task directly. Workflow tools and Autonomous Commerce serve different layers: orchestration versus execution.

Workflow Automation in depth

By Go Autonomous · Last updated: April 28, 2026

Key terms

Trigger: The event that starts a workflow.
Step: A single action in a workflow definition.
Approval: A human gate inside a workflow.
Routing: The rules that send work to the right queue or person.
SLA: Service-level agreement on how fast each step must complete.

Proof points

Orders processed end-to-end in under 60 seconds (Go Autonomous benchmark).
43 percent capacity released across order processing teams.
Danfoss onboards new countries in 1 day instead of months.
18 percent quote-to-order win rate uplift after deployment.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between workflow automation and Autonomous Commerce?

Workflow automation routes tasks between humans and systems following predefined steps. Autonomous Commerce removes the steps entirely by executing the transaction. Workflow optimizes the path. Autonomous Commerce removes the path.

Should I use workflow automation for B2B orders?

Use workflow for human-driven approval flows (credit, discount, contract). Use Autonomous Commerce for transaction execution itself. The two are complementary; workflow handles approvals, AI handles transactions.

Can workflow tools become autonomous?

Workflow tools embedding AI agents move toward autonomous behavior. Pure workflow remains step-driven. The market is bifurcating between workflow-with-AI and AI-native execution platforms.