Agentic AI Patterns

Notes on building systems where AI agents can reason, plan, and execute tasks autonomously.

Key Patterns

Tool Use

• Function calling as the primitive
• Structured outputs for reliability
• Error handling and retry logic

Planning & Reasoning

• Chain-of-thought for complex tasks
• ReAct pattern (Reason + Act)
• Multi-step workflows with checkpoints

Memory & Context

• Short-term: conversation history
• Long-term: vector stores, knowledge graphs
• Working memory: task-specific state

Implementation Notes

When building agentic systems:

1. Start with clear tool definitions
2. Design for observability from day one
3. Build in human-in-the-loop checkpoints
4. Test failure modes extensively

The key is balancing autonomy with control.