Agents & Agentic AI
Subagent
A specialized agent delegated a narrower task by another agent.
Example
A parent agent gives one bounded research question to a temporary specialist agent.
Why it matters
It keeps a larger task manageable by handing a focused piece to a separate worker.
You'll hear it
“Ask the research helper to check just those three claims.”
Can you control it?
Set by the team
The people building or running the AI choose this setup. An everyday user generally needs their help to change how this part works.
Common questions
- Does a subagent automatically know the full conversation?
- Not necessarily. It may receive only the information passed to it.
- Can it use all the parent's permissions?
- That depends on the setup; access can be restricted separately.
- Does a completed subtask guarantee the final task is correct?
- No. Its result still needs to fit the wider goal and other work.