Multi-Agent Systems and Coordination
When One Agent Is Not Enough
Why Use Multiple Agents?
Multi-agent systems can split complex work into specialized roles, increase throughput, or improve robustness through debate and cross-checking. They are most useful when tasks have clear subcomponents or benefit from diverse perspectives.
Common Agent Roles
Coordination Tradeoff
More agents can improve specialization, but they also increase communication overhead, inconsistency risk, and cost.
Single-Agent vs Multi-Agent
Single-Agent
- Simpler to debug
- Lower coordination cost
- May struggle with diverse tasks
Multi-Agent
- Can specialize roles
- Can compare viewpoints
- Requires careful communication design
A major advantage of a critic agent is that it can:
Critic agents are used to challenge and improve outputs.
Correct answer: Identify gaps and flaws in a draft plan or response
What is one risk of using many agents?
Other acceptable answers include inconsistency, higher cost, or coordination complexity.
Correct answer: Communication overhead.
Basic Coordination Pattern
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Step 1: Assign roles to agents.
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Step 2: Define a shared goal and interface.
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Step 3: Let each agent produce its contribution.
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Step 4: Merge or compare outputs.
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Step 5: Resolve conflicts and finalize.
Which task is a strong candidate for multi-agent design?
Complex workflows benefit from specialization and cross-checking.
Correct answer: A large research workflow with planning, browsing, and critique