What Are Multi-Agent Systems and When to Use Them

import Anthropic from '@anthropic-ai/sdk';
import * as dotenv from 'dotenv';
dotenv.config();

const client = new Anthropic();

// Agent factory: creates a specialized agent with a role
function createAgent(systemPrompt) {
  return async function(userMessage, history = []) {
    const messages = [...history, { role: 'user', content: userMessage }];
    
    const response = await client.messages.create({
      model: 'claude-opus-4-5',
      max_tokens: 2048,
      system: systemPrompt,
      messages
    });
    
    return response.content[0].text;
  };
}

// Create specialized agents
const researcher = createAgent(
  'You are a thorough researcher. Given a topic, produce a structured research summary with key facts, data points, and open questions.'
);

const writer = createAgent(
  'You are a skilled writer. Given research notes, write clear, engaging prose. No jargon. Concrete examples.'
);

const editor = createAgent(
  'You are a sharp editor. Review text for clarity, accuracy, and conciseness. Flag weak arguments and vague language. Return the improved version.'
);

// Simple sequential pipeline
async function researchAndWrite(topic) {
  console.log('Step 1: Researching...');
  const research = await researcher(`Research this topic: ${topic}`);
  
  console.log('Step 2: Writing...');
  const draft = await writer(`Write an article based on this research:

${research}`);
  
  console.log('Step 3: Editing...');
  const final = await editor(`Edit and improve this article:

${draft}`);
  
  return { research, draft, final };
}

const result = await researchAndWrite('The impact of AI on knowledge work');
console.log('FINAL:
', result.final);