Agent Orchestration
Agent Orchestration
Also called: 智能体编排 · Orchestration layer
The control layer that decides which agent runs when, how outputs flow between agents, and when the whole process terminates.
Questions orchestration answers
- Routing: which agent or tool should handle this step?
- Sequencing / parallelism: are steps serially dependent or can they run at once?
- Merging: how are results from multiple branches combined, and how are conflicts resolved?
- Termination: what counts as done, and what counts as a failure that should abort?
Orchestration can be hard-coded (deterministic, testable) or decided at runtime by a "coordinator" model (more flexible, less predictable).
Difference from a single agent loop
A single agent's loop only chooses "which tool next." The orchestration layer schedules across multiple agents or stages. Many production systems combine the two: deterministic orchestration on the outside for control, agent autonomy within bounded steps on the inside.
Common misconceptions
- Orchestration does not have to be model-driven — a fixed state machine or DAG is often more reliable.
- Routing every decision through one "coordinator" model makes the system hard to debug and reproduce.
Related terms
Sources
Compiled 2026-08-29 · This glossary is compiled from public papers, official specifications, and common industry definitions, and is updated as the field evolves. Corrections welcome.