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Use a single agent when one assistant can own the customer experience end to end. Use sub-agents when a parent agent or workflow should keep ownership, but a specialist agent should handle one focused part. Sub-agents are useful for clear handoffs, reusable expertise, and safer access to sensitive tools.

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Comparison

QuestionSingle agentSub-agents
Who owns the customer journey?One agent owns everythingA parent agent or workflow owns the overall journey
Best forSimple or moderately broad support workComplex work split into focused specialties
Tool accessSame tool set for the whole jobSensitive tools can stay with specialist agents
ReuseLogic stays inside one agentSpecialist agents can be reused across workflows or parent agents
ContextOne agent sees the full conversationPass conversation history only when the child agent needs it
TestingEasier to test one pathTest the parent and child behavior together
RiskAgent scope can become too broadHandoffs need clear names, descriptions, and instructions

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When a Single Agent Is Enough

A single agent is usually enough when:
  • One support domain or queue is in scope.
  • The same knowledge, tools, guidelines, and tone apply to most requests.
  • The process is easy to test as one customer journey.
  • The agent can safely own the response without specialist review.
Example: a Billing Support Agent answers invoice questions, checks refund policy, searches company docs, and responds to the customer.

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When to Use Sub-Agents

Use sub-agents when:
  • A general agent needs specialist help.
  • Multiple workflows reuse the same specialist.
  • Sensitive tools should only be available to a narrow agent.
  • A workflow owns the process, but one step needs judgment, language, or research.
  • A parent agent should delegate without giving up ownership of the conversation.
Example: a dispute workflow calls a Reason Classification Agent, an Evidence Drafting Agent, and a Slack Escalation Agent while the workflow keeps the process moving.

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Good Delegation Boundaries

Good sub-agent tasks are focused:
  • “Review this refund request against the refund policy and return a recommendation.”
  • “Summarize the technical issue and identify the likely integration.”
  • “Draft an internal escalation note with the customer impact and missing information.”
  • “Review this order lookup result and identify whether the customer is eligible.”
Avoid broad tasks that duplicate the parent agent’s job:
  • “Handle this whole customer conversation.”
  • “Do whatever is needed.”
  • “Fix the issue.”

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Context Passed to Sub-Agents

Every child run needs a useful task. Add Conversation history when the child needs previous customer messages. Add Additional context when the parent workflow has structured details such as an order lookup, policy excerpt, customer segment, or previous node output. Pass only what the child needs. Focused handoffs make child results easier to trust and easier to test.

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Examples

ScenarioDesign
General support with billing edge casesGeneral Support Agent delegates invoice disputes to Billing Agent
Refund workflowWorkflow calls Refund Specialist Agent for exception review, then continues the workflow
Technical triageTechnical Triage Agent delegates integration-specific debugging to Integration Specialist Agent
Evidence preparationWorkflow calls Evidence Drafting Agent with order lookup results as Additional context
Human approvalApproval workflow calls Slack Escalation Agent to ask a reviewer for a decision

Sub-Agents

Configure agent-to-agent delegation.

Autonomous Agents

Let agents call approved specialists.

Workflows

Call agents from workflow Tool nodes.

Runs

Review parent runs, sub-runs, and agent calls.