Agents
Concepts for building AI agents and implementing tool use.
Agents by Platform
Section titled “Agents by Platform”Each platform has its own agent system. These guides show how to build agents on each one — from no-code options for business users to full developer frameworks.
| Platform | Approach | Description | Guide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Claude | Subagents | Build and activate subagents via natural language | Building Agents on Claude |
| Claude | Agent Teams | Code-first multi-agent coordination | ↑ |
| Claude | Claude in Chrome | Chrome browser orchestration (macOS only) | ↑ |
| Claude | Agents SDK | Code-first approach in Python with SDK | ↑ |
| OpenAI | ChatGPT Agent Mode | Single-agent orchestration in ChatGPT | Building Agents on OpenAI |
| OpenAI | Atlas Browser | Browser orchestration (macOS only) | ↑ |
| OpenAI | AgentKit | Visual builder for conversational agents | ↑ |
| OpenAI | Agents SDK | Code-first approach with Python | ↑ |
| OpenAI | Frontier | Enterprises orchestrating custom, OpenAI, and third-party agents | ↑ |
| Workspace Studio | Simple agent flows for Workspace apps | Building Agents on Google | |
| Gemini Enterprise Agent Designer | Build agents and workflows visually — enterprise offering | ↑ | |
| Gemini in Chrome | AI-powered browser workflows | ↑ | |
| Vertex AI & ADK | Code-first approach in Python | ↑ | |
| M365 Copilot | Copilot & Copilot Studio | Build agents visually and deploy to M365 surfaces | Building Agents on M365 Copilot |
For guidance on deciding whether your workflow needs an agent, see Build Workflows > Agents.
Topics
Section titled “Topics”- SDK Building Block — Frameworks and toolkits for building agents and AI workflows in code (Claude Agent SDK, OpenAI Agents SDK, Google ADK, LangGraph, and more)
- Agent Capability Patterns — Seven architectural patterns that make agents effective: Reflection, Tool Use, Planning, Multi-Agent Collaboration, Memory, Guardrails, and Human-in-the-Loop
- Agent Orchestration Patterns — Eight coordination topologies for multi-agent systems: Sequential, Parallel, Router, Hierarchical, Handoff, Evaluator-Optimizer, Group Chat, and Decentralized
Key Concepts
Section titled “Key Concepts”- Function Calling - Enabling models to call external functions
- Tool Use - Defining and executing tools
- Agent Loops - Iterative reasoning and action
- ReAct Pattern - Reasoning and acting
- State Management - Tracking conversation and tool state
- Error Handling - Graceful failure and recovery
Related
Section titled “Related”- Agentic Building Blocks
- SDK — frameworks for building agents in code
- API — programmatic interfaces agents call under the hood
- AI Use Cases — what teams build with agents, organized by six primitives
- Automation Use Cases — the highest-autonomy use cases powered by agents
- Workflow Architecture Patterns — seven patterns from augmented LLMs to autonomous agents
- Patterns