Concept dictionary
Orchestration
Orchestration is the coordination of models, agents, tools, data, state, and control flow so that they operate as one larger workflow.
- Review state
- Reviewed in POC
- Freshness
- Current
- Version
- 2
Also called
- Orchestration
- AI Orchestration
Remember it this wayOrchestration conducts the parts and controls the handoffs.
In plain language
The orchestration layer decides what happens next, which component receives which information, how results are checked, and when the system stops or asks for help.
Why it matters
Many failures attributed to a model actually arise from routing, permissions, stale state, tool errors, or missing checks in the surrounding orchestration.
Example
An orchestrator sends a request to a retrieval service, passes selected documents to a model, validates the response format, and routes exceptions to a person.
Common misconception
Orchestration is not merely running several tools in sequence. It includes state, branching, error handling, permissions, and ownership of transitions.
Related terms
Sources
- Kubernetes Documentation, Overviewauthoritative systems documentation distinguishing orchestration workflows from ongoing state reconciliation.
- NIST, Accelerating the Adoption of Software and AI Agent Identity and Authorizationcurrent official context for coordinating AI agents, tools, identities, permissions, and actions.
Learn more
- Map orchestration as a [[workflow|Workflow]] with explicit [[handoff|Handoffs]].