Coordinate several agents without losing command.
A 10-15 minute lesson in the Control Tower: the night shift on the radar, the flights that only dispatch well with a flight plan —objective, headings, handoffs— and the landing that is always human.
How to split a task among several AI agents, connect their deliverables and keep the final decision for yourself.
The case
Three flights in the air and one single runway: the controller doesn't fly — he coordinates and gives the final go-ahead.
A night shift in the tower: the radar, the flights that dispatch themselves when the plan is right, and the three conflict decisions only a controller can make.
What you will learn
- Define the objective and each agent's role in a flow
- Write handoffs with format and acceptance criteria
- Keep the final decision for a person
The night-shift rule
Orchestrating isn't tossing work at random: it's defining the objective, giving each flight its heading with clear inputs and outputs, connecting the handoffs and landing with a human decision.
Objective
The concrete result that lands at the end of the shift.
Headings
One role per flight: research, draft, critique.
Handoffs
What each flight passes on and in what format.
Landing
A person gives the go-ahead before publishing.
Frequently asked questions
What is orchestrating AI agents?
Splitting a task into roles with clear inputs and outputs, connecting the deliverables and closing with a human review that decides.
Why do agents get so disorganized?
Almost always handoffs with no format or criteria: each role delivers whatever it thinks and the next one receives a mid-air puzzle.
Do I need to be a programmer to orchestrate agents?
No: you need to be a controller. Defining destination, headings and transit contracts is writing well — not coding.
Test yourself: Quick quiz: the collision-free shift
What is the controller's function in an agent flow?
Correct answer: Split the work and pass each deliverable to the next flight.
The controller connects stages: splits, defines deliverables and decides when each flight gets what it needs. He neither produces nor approves in your place.
Why does a handoff need the deliverable's format and acceptance criteria?
Correct answer: So each flight hands over something the next one can use without guessing.
A handoff is a transit contract: what goes in, what comes out, in what format. Without it, each flight delivers whatever and the next one receives a mid-air puzzle.
Why is human approval still necessary even when agents do their part?
Correct answer: Because someone must decide whether the result meets the destination and is worth publishing.
The person sets the destination, the constraints and the landing criteria. Without that review, you delegate also the decision that belongs to you.
The pocket rule — One agent produces; a second one reviews; a person decides. Define the destination, each flight's heading and each handoff's format — and keep the landing for yourself.
What you take away
A flight plan for agents: objective, roles with inputs and outputs, clear handoffs and human review on landing.