What is Amazon Bedrock Agents Classic?
Amazon Bedrock Agents was introduced in 2023 to build autonomous AI agents on top of foundation models. The service is now called Amazon Bedrock Agents Classic and is in maintenance mode: since July 30, 2026, it is no longer accessible to AWS accounts without prior usage. Existing customers can continue operating their agents unchanged, but no new models or features are being added.
For new agent projects, AWS recommends Amazon Bedrock AgentCore, which builds on the capabilities of Bedrock Agents Classic and extends them with a modular, framework- and model-agnostic platform (Runtime, Memory, Gateway, Identity, Browser, Code Interpreter, Observability). AgentCore additionally supports the Model Context Protocol (MCP) and any open-source framework such as LangGraph, CrewAI, or Strands Agents.
Core Features (Bedrock Agents Classic, existing customers)
- Autonomous orchestration: The agent breaks a task into logical steps on its own, calls the required tools, and runs the workflow through to a result (ReAct principle: Reasoning + Acting).
- Action Groups and tool use: Available tools are defined via OpenAPI specifications and executed via AWS Lambda. With Return of Control, the call can instead be handed back to your own code.
- Knowledge Bases and RAG: Agents access Amazon Bedrock Knowledge Bases directly and incorporate enterprise data via semantic search into their responses.
- Code Interpreter: The agent can execute code in a managed sandbox to perform calculations or data analysis.
- All existing APIs remain usable: UpdateAgent, InvokeAgent, action group, and knowledge base APIs continue to work unchanged for existing customers.
Typical Use Cases
Continued operation of existing agents: Organizations with production Bedrock Agents Classic workloads can keep using them unchanged, without immediate pressure to act.
Migration to AgentCore: For new requirements or once you reach the functional limits of Bedrock Agents Classic (for example, no new models), migrating to AgentCore is recommended, particularly via the managed harness as the closest equivalent.
New agent projects: For new AWS accounts without prior Bedrock Agents usage, moving to AgentCore is effectively mandatory, since CreateAgent is no longer available to these accounts.
Benefits
- Existing customers benefit from investment protection: existing agents, infrastructure-as-code templates, and integrations continue to work unchanged.
- No separate agent fee; billing is based on model token consumption and connected services.
- A clear, documented migration path to Amazon Bedrock AgentCore with a mapping table for all core features.
- AgentCore as the successor platform offers greater flexibility across models, frameworks, and protocols.
Integration with innFactory
As an AWS Reseller, innFactory helps you assess your existing Bedrock Agents Classic workloads and migrate them to Amazon Bedrock AgentCore: from inventory and mapping of action groups and knowledge bases to production implementation with the AgentCore managed harness or custom framework code.
Typical Use Cases
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Amazon Bedrock Agents Classic?
Amazon Bedrock Agents (launched in 2023) is now called Amazon Bedrock Agents Classic. The service allowed you to build autonomous AI agents on top of foundation models that plan multi-step tasks and access APIs and knowledge bases through action groups.
Is Amazon Bedrock Agents Classic still available?
Yes, without restriction for existing customers. However, since July 30, 2026, the service is no longer accessible to accounts without prior usage (maintenance mode, no new agent creation). Existing agents, APIs, knowledge base integrations, and guardrails continue to work unchanged, but no new models or features are being added.
What is the recommended alternative?
AWS recommends Amazon Bedrock AgentCore for new projects. AgentCore offers a managed harness for a configuration-based experience similar to Bedrock Agents Classic, plus the ability to run your own frameworks such as LangGraph, CrewAI, or Strands Agents on managed infrastructure with runtime, memory, gateway, and observability.
How do I migrate from Bedrock Agents Classic to AgentCore?
AWS provides a mapping guide: model, action groups, knowledge bases, and prompts are translated into the corresponding AgentCore components (harness, gateway, memory). Migration typically takes a few hours for simple agents; complex multi-agent scenarios with custom orchestration require more effort. There is no fixed migration deadline.
What does Amazon Bedrock Agents Classic cost?
There is no separate charge for the orchestration layer itself. You pay for the tokens of the foundation models used and for connected services such as Knowledge Bases or Lambda functions.
Is Amazon Bedrock Agents Classic available in the EU?
For existing customers, the service is available in several EU regions; check availability per region. AWS offers GDPR-compliant data processing agreements for Amazon Bedrock.
Note: All product information on this page has been compiled with care, but is provided without guarantee and may be outdated or incomplete. Cloud services evolve rapidly — features, pricing, SLAs, and availability change frequently. Authoritative and up-to-date information can only be found on the official product page of AWS (official documentation). This page does not represent an offer by AWS.