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--- | ||
title: Agents | ||
description: Introduction to agents | ||
author: luisquintanilla | ||
ms.author: luquinta | ||
ms.date: 10/01/2025 | ||
ms.topic: concept-article | ||
--- | ||
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# Agents | ||
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This article introduces the core concepts behind agents, why they matter, and how they fit into workflows, setting you up to get started building agents in .NET. | ||
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## What are agents? | ||
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**Agents are systems that accomplish objectives.** | ||
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 | ||
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Agents become more capable when equipped with the following: | ||
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- **Reasoning and decision-making**: Powered by LLMs, search algorithms, or planning and decision-making systems. | ||
- **Tool usage**: Access to Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers, code execution, and external APIs. | ||
- **Context awareness**: Informed by chat history, threads, vector stores, enterprise data, or knowledge graphs. | ||
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These capabilities allow agents to operate more autonomously, adaptively, and intelligently. | ||
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## What are workflows? | ||
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As objectives grow in complexity, they need to be broken down into manageable steps. That's where workflows come in. | ||
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**Workflows define the sequence of steps required to achieve an objective.** | ||
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Imagine you're launching a new feature on your business website. If it's a simple update, you might go from idea to production in a few hours. But for more complex initiatives, the process might include: | ||
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- Requirement gathering | ||
- Design and architecture | ||
- Implementation | ||
- Testing | ||
- Deployment | ||
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A few important observations: | ||
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- Each step might contain subtasks. | ||
- Different specialists might own different phases. | ||
- Progress isn’t always linear. Bugs found during testing might send you back to implementation. | ||
- Success depends on planning, orchestration, and communication across stakeholders. | ||
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### Agents + workflows = agentic workflows | ||
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Workflows don't require agents, but agents can supercharge them. | ||
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When agents are equipped with reasoning, tools, and context, they can optimize workflows. | ||
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This is the foundation of multi-agent systems, where agents collaborate within workflows to achieve complex goals. | ||
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### Workflow orchestration | ||
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Agentic workflows can be orchestrated in a variety of ways. The following are a few of the most common: | ||
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- [Sequential](#sequential) | ||
- [Concurrent](#concurrent) | ||
- [Handoff](#handoff) | ||
- [Group chat](#group-chat) | ||
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#### Sequential | ||
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Agents process tasks one after another, passing results forward. | ||
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 | ||
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#### Concurrent | ||
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Agents work in parallel, each handling different aspects of the task. | ||
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 | ||
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#### Handoff | ||
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Responsibility shifts from one agent to another based on conditions or outcomes. | ||
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 | ||
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#### Group chat | ||
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Agents collaborate in a shared conversation, exchanging insights in real-time. | ||
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 | ||
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## How can I get started building agents in .NET? | ||
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The building blocks in <xref:Microsoft.Extensions.AI> and <xref:Microsoft.Extensions.VectorData> supply the foundations for agents by providing modular components for AI models, tools, and data. | ||
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These components serve as the foundation for Microsoft Agent Framework. | ||
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For more information, see [Microsoft Agent Framework](/agent-framework/overview/agent-framework-overview). |
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