Agentic Workflow

Also called AI Workflow

A process in which language-model calls and tools are chained along steps a person has designed, such as draft, check, then send, with the model doing the work at each step but not choosing the path.

Why it matters

For most business tasks a well-designed workflow is cheaper, faster and more predictable than a fully autonomous agent, so it is usually where to start. An agent is worth its extra cost only when the steps cannot be known in advance.

For example

A recruiting startup's workflow reads each CV, scores it against the job description, drafts a reply, and queues the reply for a recruiter to approve.

Go deeper

Building effective agents Anthropic · guide Anthropic's guide to the common workflow patterns for language models (chaining prompts, routing, running steps in parallel, checking one model's output with another) and when each is enough. Open anthropic.com →

Related terms

Also in Starting Up

See how founders actually handle this on Building the product, part of the Starting Up hub.

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