Choosing the Right Multi-Agent Architecture

When single-agent systems become too complex, multi-agent architectures offer a powerful solution by organizing tasks across four distinct patterns. The "subagents" pattern uses a central supervisor to orchestrate specialized agents as tools, while the "skills" pattern allows a single agent to dynamically load new capabilities on demand. Alternatively, the "handoffs" pattern enables state-driven transitions between different agents in a sequence, and the "router" pattern dispatches queries to multiple agents in parallel before synthesizing their results. Each architecture presents unique tradeoffs, making the best choice dependent on whether an application requires centralized control, sequential workflows, or parallel processing.