Agent Framework Workflows: Beyond Chat — Orchestrating Complex AI Tasks

Introduction In Part 1 of this series, we explored how Microsoft Agent Framework unifies Semantic Kernel and AutoGen into a cohesive SDK. We built simple agents, added tools, and managed conversations. But real-world AI applications often require more than a single agent responding to queries. You need: Multi-step processes with explicit ordering Multiple agents collaborating on different aspects of a task Conditional branching based on intermediate results Human approval at critical decision points Durability so long-running tasks survive failures This is where Workflows come in. When to Use Workflows vs. Single Agents Before diving in, let's clarify when workflows make sense: Scenario Recommendation Simple Q&A, chat interfaces Single agent Content generation with review cycles Workflow Data processing pipelines Workflow Tasks requiring human approval Workflow Complex research with multiple perspectives Workflow Long-running processes (hours/days) Workflow with checkpointing The rule