Build a Multi-Agent Research Crew
A researcher gathers, a writer drafts, a reviewer checks. Here is how to set up a small crew without it turning into chaos.
- 1
Confirm you actually need multiple agents
Before splitting, ask whether one agent with good prompts could do the job. Multi-agent setups cost more tokens and add coordination failures. Split only when the roles are genuinely different work, like research versus writing versus review, where separate context per role clearly helps.
- 2
Define clear roles and handoffs
In CrewAI, give each agent a role, a goal, and only the tools it needs. Make the handoff explicit: the researcher's output is the writer's input. AutoGen frames the same crew as a conversation, which suits more open-ended exploration. Keep each agent's job narrow so its context stays focused.
- 3
Cap the loop and watch the cost
Multi-agent crews can spiral: agents passing work back and forth, re-doing steps, or disagreeing. Set a maximum number of rounds and a budget, and turn on observability so you can see where tokens go. If two agents keep ping-ponging, that is a sign the roles overlap and should be merged.