𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝟯𝟬 𝗔𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗔𝗜 𝗧𝗲𝗿𝗺𝘀 𝗠𝘆 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗨𝘀𝗲𝘀

My team kept asking the same question in different words: what's the difference between an agent loop and an agentic workflow. So I put together the list I wish someone had handed me a year ago. Plain English, no fluff.

𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗠𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗰𝘀
𝟭. 𝗔𝗜 𝗔𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁: given a goal, plans, acts, checks results, keeps going.
𝟮. 𝗔𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗳𝗹𝗼𝘄: pre-designed multi-step process using AI.
𝟯. 𝗔𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗟𝗼𝗼𝗽: decide, act, observe, repeat until done.
𝟰. 𝗧𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴: model calls a function, works off the real result.
𝟱. 𝗔𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀: the code managing tools, state, and permissions.
𝟲. 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗽𝘁 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴: crafting instructions to get reliable behavior.
𝟳. 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁: model reasons step by step before answering.
𝟴. 𝗥𝗲𝗔𝗰𝘁 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻: alternating reasoning and action in one loop.

𝗜𝗻𝗽𝘂𝘁𝘀
𝟵. 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴: deciding what the model sees at each step.
𝟭𝟬. 𝗠𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗿𝘆: persisting info across sessions.
𝟭𝟭. 𝗠𝗖𝗣: standard way to connect agents to tools and data.
𝟭𝟮. 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴: tying output to verified facts.
𝟭𝟯. 𝗛𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘂𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: confidently generating false information.
𝟭𝟰. 𝗘𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗱𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀: numerical representations of meaning.

𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀
𝟭𝟱. 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴: breaking a goal into ordered subtasks.
𝟭𝟲. 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴: weighing tradeoffs to pick the next move.
𝟭𝟳. 𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: agent reviews its own output before finalizing.

𝗦𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴
𝟭𝟴. 𝗠𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶 𝗔𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗦𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺: specialized agents dividing the work.
𝟭𝟵. 𝗢𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: coordinating which agent does what, when.
𝟮𝟬. 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗳𝗳: passing a task to a more specialized agent.
𝟮𝟭. 𝗦𝘂𝗯 𝗔𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁: smaller agent spun up for one specific piece.
𝟮𝟮. 𝗔𝟮𝗔: protocol letting agents from different systems talk.

𝗦𝗮𝗳𝗲𝘁𝘆
𝟮𝟯. 𝗚𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀: hard limits on agent actions.
𝟮𝟰. 𝗛𝗜𝗧𝗟: a person approves irreversible actions.
𝟮𝟱. 𝗦𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗯𝗼𝘅𝗶𝗻𝗴: isolating actions from production systems.
𝟮𝟲. 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗽𝘁 𝗜𝗻𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: malicious input hijacking instructions.
𝟮𝟳. 𝗢𝗯𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆: logging what an agent actually did.
𝟮𝟴. 𝗘𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘀: testing if the right steps were taken, not just the output.

𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹
𝟮𝟵. 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝘂𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗨𝘀𝗲: agent operates a UI directly, no API needed.
𝟯𝟬. 𝗔𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗪𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴: calling something an agent when it's just a chatbot.

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