A few quick questions. I'll come back personally, one company at a time, US and UK.
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Claude Code · Practical Guide
How to Use Agents in Claude Code (Step-by-Step Guide)
How to use agents in Claude Code, step by step and no code. You do not memorize commands: Claude searches the internet and walks you through every step.
September 10, 2026 · 21 slides Claude CodeAI AgentsNo-CodeAutomationBusiness
A step-by-step guide. No code. You talk, the agent does the work.
Bruno Ashford · September 10, 2026
Why this matters
Hand off the work you hate
There is a stack of work in your business that nobody needs to do by hand anymore. Agents in Claude Code do it on their own, and you do not need to be technical to set one up.
An assistant that works on its own.
You set it up just by talking.
You can start today.
The idea
A digital assistant that does one job for you, on its own
Pick the one task you would hand off and never think about again.
No code. You describe the job, it does the work.
Like: read every new lead and book the call.
Step 1
Install it
First, get the tool. About two minutes.
Mac or Linux: curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash
Windows: irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex. Check it worked with: claude --version
This is Claude Code, the tool you talk to. It needs a paid plan (Pro, Max or Team). Free will not run it.
Step 2
Open and talk
You do not type code. You type a sentence.
Open your project folder, run claude, then log in.
It is a chat. You ask, it does the work. The first run opens your browser to log in.
Step 3
Ask the right way
Better instructions, better results. Say what to do, how, and what a good result looks like.
Vague: handle my leads.
Clear: reply to each new lead, then book a call.
You can also say: explain it before you do it.
Memory
Give it memory
One file makes it remember your business.
Ask it to create a CLAUDE.md with your company, tone and rules.
Now it remembers all that in every chat. No repeating yourself every time.
The structure
It builds the structure
You never set up folders by hand. It does it.
When you ask, it creates the setup for you.
Agents, skills, commands and the memory file: all automatic. You just talk, it organizes everything.
Step 4
Create the agent
An agent is just one file.
Ask: create an agent that replies to new leads.
The file holds its name, its job and what it can do. No wizard, just asking is the normal way.
Step 5
How it runs
Built once. It runs when you need it.
Call it by name, let it pick itself, or schedule it.
Yes, it can run on its own, on a schedule: every morning, every new lead, your choice.
Step 6
Give it skills
A skill is your playbook, saved.
Make a folder in .claude/skills with a SKILL.md: a short description, then the steps.
Now it runs your process the same way every time. See them with /skills, run one with /skill-name.
Why it stays fast
It only reads a skill in full when it needs it
Keep the description short and the detail in the body.
So it can hold many skills and never slow down.
You give it deep knowledge with no slowdown.
Connect
Connect your apps
It can plug into the apps you already use.
An API is the app's outlet; MCP is the safe plug you connect once.
Then it acts for you: reads email, books meetings, saves to Drive. Gmail, Calendar, Drive, WhatsApp and more.
One step at a time
If you can already picture this running in your business, you are ready. Each piece you add gives you back more of your week.
The real secret
Claude does the research for you
You do not memorize commands. Claude searches the internet and walks you through every step.
Say: walk me through installing this, or connect my Gmail and tell me what to click.
Claude searches the internet for you, pulls the current steps and does them with you.
You talk in plain words, Claude finds the answer and acts. You never look up a command.
Step 7
What to automate
Repeatable plus rules equals agent.
List every job that repeated last week. Each one is an agent.
One job at a time, and every agent gives you hours back.
Leads, reports, content, finance, support, inbox and calendar.
Ideas to automate · 1
Sales and customer work
1Replies to every new lead and books the callLeads
2Follows up until the lead answersFollow-up
3Qualifies leads before you get on the phoneLeads
4Answers the questions customers always askSupport
5Sends a review request after each jobReputation
6Drafts a quote from an incoming requestSales
Ideas to automate · 2
Operations, content and admin
1Pulls your numbers and writes the Monday reportReports
2Sorts expenses and flags what looks offFinance
3Turns one idea into a week of posts in your voiceContent
4Cleans your inbox and drafts the repliesInbox
5Books and reschedules your meetingsCalendar
6Builds onboarding docs from a recorded callOps
Golden tip
Do not start with the clever agent. Start with the most boring task you repeat all week. That is where the hours are hiding.
Recap
From zero to your first agent
Install it, then just talk to your folder.
Give it memory, create an agent, add skills.
Connect your apps, and let it run on its own.
The secret: ask, and it guides you.
Your move
Build the one that gives you your time back
You just set up an AI that works for you, by talking, not coding. Pick one boring task this week. For the full system, it is all at brunoashford.com.
brunoashford.com
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Key takeaways
Agents in Claude Code are digital assistants that each do one job on their own, and you set one up just by talking.
Install Claude Code, open a folder and talk to it in plain words. No coding at any step.
Give it memory with a CLAUDE.md file so it remembers your business in every chat.
Add skills so it runs your process the same way every time, and connect your apps with MCP.
The real secret: you do not memorize commands. Claude searches the internet and walks you through every step, so you ask in plain words and it finds the steps and does them with you.
FAQ
Do I need to know how to code to build an AI agent?
No. You describe the job in plain words and the AI writes the setup files itself, from the agent to the skills to the memory file.
What do I need to install?
Claude Code, run with one command in your terminal. It needs a paid Claude plan (Pro, Max or Team). The free plan does not run it.
Can an AI agent run on its own?
Yes. You can call it by name, let it pick itself, or put it on a schedule so it runs every morning or on every new lead.
What is CLAUDE.md?
A single file where the AI stores what it knows about your company, tone and rules, so it remembers all of that in every chat.
What should I automate first?
Start with the most boring task you repeat all week. That is where the hours are hiding, and each agent gives that time back.
