spring ai

Spring AI: Agents & Tools Foundations

Give your AI the power to act. Learn to implement Tool Calling with the @Tool annotation and build agents that perform tasks in Java.

Expected Outcome

The ability to use the @Tool annotation to safely expose Java logic and build agents that make decisions and perform actions.

Target Audience

Java developers looking to move from passive chats to active services that can use Java methods as tools in their systems.

Prerequisites

Experience with Spring AI equivalent to 'Spring AI Jumpstart: Professional' is required to handle Tool Calling logic.

Curriculum & Highlights

→ Tool Calling & @Tool Annotation

→ Declarative Tool Definitions

→ Multi-step Agent Reasoning

→ Tool Metadata & @ToolParam

→ ChatClient Tool Integration

→ Bean-based Tool Resolution

→ Tool Selection Logic

→ Agent State & Feedback Loops

Challenges we address

"How do I use the @Tool annotation to expose my Java code to a language model?"

"How do I describe my methods and parameters so the AI agent understands exactly how to use them?"

"How do I handle complex flows where the AI needs to invoke multiple different tools to solve a task?"

Detailed Description

A standard chat AI is limited to its training data, but agents can actively interact with their surrounding systems. Using Tool Calling (formerly known as Function Calling), the AI model gains the ability to independently choose and invoke the right Java method to retrieve real-time data or execute changes within your application. This workshop teaches the foundations of creating these actionable agents in Spring AI through Active Learning. We focus on the modern, declarative way of working with AI tools through annotations. The goal is to provide the team with a clear structure for bridging the gap between the language model's reasoning and your existing codebase in a way that is both secure and maintainable. We explore how to define and register tools using the @Tool annotation directly on our Java methods. We learn to use @ToolParam to describe input data in a way the LLM understands, minimizing the risk of incorrect calls. During the day, we build agents capable of multi-step reasoning, where the model independently decides when it needs to invoke a tool to complete a task. We also address the importance of clear method descriptions, as these instructions govern the model's ability to choose the right tool at the right time. Actlea's core philosophy is that the power of AI lies in its ability to act, but responsibility always remains with the code. Experience shows that the @Tool annotation is the single most important key to making AI integrations understandable for Java developers. A key insight for modern teams is that agents do not replace logic—they use it. This workshop provides the foundation for transforming your AI from an advisor into an active participant in your business processes on the Java platform.

Recommendation & Next Steps

Empower your agents with your company's own data by moving on to: 'Enterprise RAG with Spring AI'. →

Format Workshop

Duration 1 day

Level Professional

Instructor Andreas Olsson

Price per group $2,900

Standard price per group (up to 12 participants) for remote delivery. Additional costs apply for onsite delivery.

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Download Overview (PDF)

Tech Stack

AI Agents Tool Calling @Tool Spring AI Automation Java

Your Instructor

Andreas Olsson

Expertise through Active Learning

Java and the Spring Framework have been my core focus for over 20 years. Today, my mission is primarily to help organizations step into the future by integrating intelligent agents and AI-driven features into modern Java systems.

Actlea stands for Active Learning – the philosophy that programming is best learned by writing code, not by watching slides. My workshops focus on intensive, hands-on exercises designed to solve real-world problems.

I deliver proven training concepts globally across all timezones. While I specialize in remote delivery, I love to travel for onsite workshops. My modules are ready for immediate impact but can be tailored to your team's specific requirements.

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Java • Spring Boot • Spring AI

Enterprise teams trained by Actlea

Participant Reviews

What past participants say

Read about the pedagogical approach, the hands-on labs, and the impact on daily work.

"I recently had the pleasure of being a student of Andreas and I cannot speak highly enough of his skill and professionalism. Throughout the training, Andreas demonstrated a deep understanding of Java programming and was able to convey complex concepts in a way that was easy to understand. His ability to break down difficult topics and explain them in a clear and concise manner was truly remarkable. Overall, I would highly recommend Andreas as a teacher of Java programming. His skill and professionalism make him an exceptional educator, and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to learn from him. If you are looking for a teacher who is knowledgeable, patient and passionate about teaching, Andreas is the perfect choice."

"Andreas is a fantastic teacher! In addition to the fact that I experienced him as competent with a solid knowledge of his subjects, he really excels as an educator. Regardless of who you are or what level of knowledge you are at, Andreas always responds to one's questions with commitment, curiosity and a positive attitude that is contagious. Above all, I appreciated that he both gave me space to explore solutions myself and think creatively, while he was always there to contribute his support. I highly recommend Andreas!"

"Andreas is a knowledgeable and pragmatic teacher who with a good mood shares knowledge that feels relevant to working life with a high level of competence."

"Andreas is an excellent teacher who shows great competence in system development with Java and has developed an effective and engaging curriculum. He is an experienced system developer with broad knowledge of the Java ecosystem and he provides valuable feedback that helps students grow and develop as programmers. Andreas also encourages independent and creative thinking for students. I highly recommend Andreas to anyone looking for a high-quality education in Java development."

"Andreas is the name of competence, skill and reliability. He is no doubt a guru in the field of Java. His style of teaching is practical, well structured and effortless; I learned Java by doing it because of his well organized assignments.I felt connected, confident and comfortable with Andreas during the whole course because he listens, replies and helps each and every student in a very productive and professional way"

"Incredibly educational days with Andreas as a Java teacher. He has extensive knowledge of everything from the older Java versions to the newer ones. Andreas is very good at explaining programming languages in detail and in a way that is easy to understand most of the time! The lessons how challenging and fun that really made one think and train one's problem solving skills. In addition, Andreas has good pedagogy and is very responsive and helpful when you need help. Can strongly recommend Andreas as a teacher of Java and programming in general!"

"It is clear that Andreas has a great passion and a genuine interest in the success of his students. He has really influenced and inspired me! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️"

"Andreas is a fun and dedicated teacher who always took time for questions. When you needed help, you always got it, no matter how long it took. Andreas has a cheerful mood that is contagious, which means that there was always a pleasant atmosphere during his lectures. He is very educational in his way of being, which makes it easy to absorb the information."

"I'm a senior software engineer whose main languages are TypeScript and Python. I recently joined a new team that's very Java-heavy, and I spent a long time trying to find something that was the right skill level for me to learn Java. Everything I found seemed too basic and was explaining things like the concepts of variables, or assumed too much knowledge and was too difficult. I'm so pleased to have found Actlea; it was precisely what I needed to get up to speed. Andreas was great and found an excellent balance of explaining the language-specific features while assuming some prior knowledge. If you're already familiar with one or more languages and need to get up to speed quickly in Java, this is the course you're looking for. The cadence and pacing of the class is perfect, engaging, and thorough, and I have the tools I need now to delve deeper into this language and make an impact on my team. Thanks, Andreas, for putting this together!"

"The Java program at Academic Work was excellent! It consisted of, given the name, mostly programming in Java, but also had some front-end courses. I thought the Java courses were the best. Not only because I was most interested in java, but also because the teacher in the java courses was Andreas. It's easy for it to get messy and "too much" when learning programming, especially for those starting from scratch, but Andreas taught in a very pedagogical way, and it never became long-winded or boring. Recommends the java program at Academic Work to anyone who wants to learn programming and wants to change careers."

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