š„Agentic AI is hot! The Y Combinator Fall batch ā24 showcases this trend with startups like Sandra AI (multi-agent roles in car dealerships) and Afternoon.co (SMB accounting agents).
Regardless of underlying agentic framework, these YC startups are building to solve real world problems and adopting fundamental elements that make AI agents truly effective, including:
1ļøā£ Clear Roles
Just like humans, AI agents perform better with clear roles and contexts. Pro tip: Use role-specific keywords to nudge the LLM in the right direction and improve response quality.
2ļøā£ Agent Focus
Less is more! Donāt create a ājack of all tradesā agent. Break complex tasks into smaller sub-tasks and assign dedicated agents - like building an expert team.
3ļøā£ Strategic Tooling
Keep it minimal. Providing too many tools can impair decision-making, especially in weaker models. Equip agents with only whatās essential for their specific task.
4ļøā£ Agent Cooperation
We humans achieve better when brainstorming together, right? Same with AI agents, they excel when collaborating. Using shared long and short term memory, and inter-agent messaging, they can delegate tasks, share feedback, learn collectively, and build on shared insights.
5ļøā£ Agent Guard Railing
Prevent your agents from derailing. Guardrails are your safety net. They help prevent hallucinations and ensure consistent, reliable results.
What elements would you add?
