> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.duckie.ai/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Single Agents vs Sub-Agents > Decide when one agent should own a conversation and when to delegate focused work to specialist agents 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. ## Comparison | Question | Single agent | Sub-agents | | ------------------------------ | --------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------- | | Who owns the customer journey? | One agent owns everything | A parent agent or workflow owns the overall journey | | Best for | Simple or moderately broad support work | Complex work split into focused specialties | | Tool access | Same tool set for the whole job | Sensitive tools can stay with specialist agents | | Reuse | Logic stays inside one agent | Specialist agents can be reused across workflows or parent agents | | Context | One agent sees the full conversation | Pass conversation history only when the child agent needs it | | Testing | Easier to test one path | Test the parent and child behavior together | | Risk | Agent scope can become too broad | Handoffs need clear names, descriptions, and instructions | ## 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. ## 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. ## 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." ## 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. ## Examples | Scenario | Design | | --------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | General support with billing edge cases | General Support Agent delegates invoice disputes to Billing Agent | | Refund workflow | Workflow calls Refund Specialist Agent for exception review, then continues the workflow | | Technical triage | Technical Triage Agent delegates integration-specific debugging to Integration Specialist Agent | | Evidence preparation | Workflow calls Evidence Drafting Agent with order lookup results as Additional context | | Human approval | Approval workflow calls Slack Escalation Agent to ask a reviewer for a decision | ## Related Docs Configure agent-to-agent delegation. Let agents call approved specialists. Call agents from workflow Tool nodes. Review parent runs, sub-runs, and agent calls. Call Duckie from a customer-owned orchestration agent.