For example, in the Agents SDK, agents are started using the Runner.
run() method, which loops
over the LLM until either:
01 A final-output tool is invoked, defined by a specific output type
02 The model returns a response without any tool calls (e.g., a direct user message)
Example usage:
Python
1 [Link](agent, [UserMessage("What's the capital of the USA?")])
This concept of a while loop is central to the functioning of an agent. In multi-agent systems, as
you’ll see next, you can have a sequence of tool calls and handoffs between agents but allow the
model to run multiple steps until an exit condition is met.
An effective strategy for managing complexity without switching to a multi-agent framework is to
use prompt templates. Rather than maintaining numerous individual prompts for distinct use
cases, use a single flexible base prompt that accepts policy variables. This template approach
adapts easily to various contexts, significantly simplifying maintenance and evaluation. As new use
cases arise, you can update variables rather than rewriting entire workflows.
Unset
1 """ You are a call center agent. You are interacting with
{{user_first_name}} who has been a member for {{user_tenure}}. The user's
most common complains are about {{user_complaint_categories}}. Greet the
user, thank them for being a loyal customer, and answer any questions the
user may have!
15 A practical guide to building agents
When to consider creating multiple agents
Our general recommendation is to maximize a single agent’s capabilities first. More agents can
provide intuitive separation of concepts, but can introduce additional complexity and overhead,
so often a single agent with tools is sufficient.
For many complex workflows, splitting up prompts and tools across multiple agents allows for
improved performance and scalability. When your agents fail to follow complicated instructions
or consistently select incorrect tools, you may need to further divide your system and introduce
more distinct agents.
Practical guidelines for splitting agents include:
Complex logic When prompts contain many conditional statements
(multiple if-then-else branches), and prompt templates get
difficult to scale, consider dividing each logical segment across
separate agents.
Tool overload The issue isn’t solely the number of tools, but their similarity
or overlap. Some implementations successfully manage
more than 15 well-defined, distinct tools while others struggle
with fewer than 10 overlapping tools. Use multiple agents
if improving tool clarity by providing descriptive names,
clear parameters, and detailed descriptions doesn’t
improve performance.
16 A practical guide to building agents
