| Style | How It Works | Best For |
|---|---|---|
Default (default) | Uses LLM prompts to decide tools and actions dynamically. | Simple, linear tasks needing flexibility. |
ReAct (react) | Iterative loop: Think → Act → Observe. Adjusts based on outcomes. | Complex, evolving tasks needing reasoning. |
Plan-Act (planner) | Creates a structured plan first, then executes step by step. | Multi-step workflows needing transparency. |
Customer Care (experimental_customer_care) | Low latency and deterministic workflow built for customer support tasks. Works only with remote streamable HTTP MCP servers. | High‑volume customer support flows that need high throughput and consistent behavior. |
Note:
If you use
If you use
groq/openai/gpt-oss-120b as your agent’s model, the agent ignores all styles, except for the Customer Care style. Choose a different model to use the other styles.Default style
Choose Default (default) for simple tasks. This style uses a streamlined, tool-centric reasoning mode. The LLM decides which tool to use, how to use it, and when to respond. It works best for linear logic, such as retrieving a report or checking a ticket, because the agent orchestrates tool calls dynamically.
Use this style for:
- Single-step or lightly sequential tasks
- Scenarios that need flexibility
- Tasks that involve multiple tools without strict sequencing
| Behavior | Tool Compatibility | Example use cases |
|---|---|---|
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ReAct style
Choose ReAct (react) for complex or ambiguous problems where each outcome influences the next step. This style uses an iterative loop: Think → Act → Observe. It supports reasoning, validation, and interactive confirmation. Inspired by the ReAct methodology, it surfaces the agent’s chain of thought.
A ReAct agent breaks tasks into smaller steps, reasons through each, takes action, and adjusts based on what it learns. It might ask you for confirmation before continuing.
Use this style for:
- Exploratory or research-intensive tasks
- Scenarios requiring iterative validation
- Tasks with unclear or evolving requirements
- Situations where transparent reasoning matters
| Behavior | Tool Compatibility | Example use cases |
|---|---|---|
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Plan-Act style
Choose Plan-Act (planner) for structured workflows. The agent creates a plan first, listing tasks and tools, then executes each step in order. It can replan if conditions change. This style works well for multi-step processes and gives you transparency.
By default, the planner style summarizes tasks planned and executed unless you define a custom output.
Use this style for:
- Multi-step workflows
- Business processes needing transparency and traceability
- Automations involving multiple domains or collaborator agents
| Behavior | Tool Compatibility | Example use cases |
|---|---|---|
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Customize the Response Output for Plan-Act
To customize the output, define eitherstructured_output or custom_join_tool:
Note:
structured_output and custom_join_tool are mutually exclusive. Use one, not both.structured_output defines the schema for the agent’s response.
The custom_join_tool is a Python tool that formats the output. For example:
custom_join_tool.py
(Public preview) Customer Care style
Choose Customer Care (experimental_customer_care) when you need very low latency, high throughput, and consistent customer support automation. Customer Care agents work only with remote streamable HTTP MCP servers. They do not work with your existing tools and do not support collaboration across multiple agents.
You find additional details for Customer Care style on official watsonx Orchestrate ADK repository. For more information, see Getting Started with Customer Care.
