ModelRefs / Agent Swarm / Swarm — AI Glossary

Agent Swarm / Swarm — AI Glossary

A multi-agent pattern using lightweight, ephemeral agents with handoff-based routing rather than a persistent orchestrator.

Overview

OpenAI Swarm (2024, experimental) demonstrates a minimalist multi-agent pattern: agents are stateless, context is passed via handoffs, no central orchestrator. Agents can hand off to other agents when their task scope is exceeded. The pattern reduces architectural complexity at the cost of less sophisticated coordination.

Reference details

Topicagents
Last reviewed2026-06-24

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Frequently asked questions

What is Agent Swarm / Swarm?

A multi-agent pattern using lightweight, ephemeral agents with handoff-based routing rather than a persistent orchestrator.

What concepts are related to Agent Swarm / Swarm?

Closely related concepts include autogen, worker agent, orchestrator.