How Smart Routing works
Smart Routing is the AI layer that decides which child agent should answer each message in a Multi-Agent, so end-users never have to pick an agent themselves. This article explains how that decision gets made. For setup steps, refer to Enable and configure Smart Routing and Set routing instructions for your Multi-Agent.
The problem it solves
A Multi-Agent brings several specialized child agents into one chat. Each agent stays focused on what it does best. Without Smart Routing, the end-user has to identify the right one themselves, based on a list of names. Choosing the wrong agent means a weaker answer. The more child agents a Multi-Agent has, the harder that choice gets.
Smart Routing removes that step: it reads the question and sends it to the agent built to handle it.
What Smart Routing reads to make a decision
Smart Routing bases its decision on the current message, recent conversation history, and each child agent's name. If the builder has written routing instructions for the Multi-Agent, Smart Routing uses those as well. Routing instructions are optional - Smart Routing works without them. Refer to Set routing instructions for your Multi-Agent for details.
This also applies to follow-up questions. If a conversation starts with a product question and shifts to a billing question, Smart Routing can hand it to the billing agent without the user repeating themselves, as long as that shift falls within the conversation history it considers.
The three routing modes
A builder picks one mode for their Multi-Agent:
| Mode | What happens |
|---|---|
| Manual | Smart Routing is off. The end-user picks a child agent from the dropdown. |
| Auto at conversation start | Smart Routing picks the best-fit child agent once, at the start of the conversation. The user can still switch to a different agent afterward. |
| Auto on every message | Smart Routing evaluates every message and can route each one to a different child agent if the question shifts. |
The three modes sit on a spectrum from the end-user driving (Manual) to Smart Routing being fully hands-off (Auto on every message).
Users can still take control
Alongside automatic routing, a builder can let end-users switch to a specific child agent themselves at any point, or stay on "Auto" and let Smart Routing keep deciding. This picker is separate from the routing mode itself - refer to Enable and configure Smart Routing to know how it's controlled.
File uploads with mixed child agents
Plan & Act agents can now be added as children too, alongside your other agents or with each other - so a Multi-Agent's children might have different file-upload capabilities. Some may be able to analyze uploaded files (through Document Analyst or Smart Tasks), some may not. What happens with an uploaded file depends on whether the end-user is on Auto or has picked a specific child agent.
On Auto:
- File size, length, and count limits follow whichever connected child agent allows the most.
- Every child agent is considered when Smart Routing decides who answers - including ones that can't handle files.
- Smart Routing might still route the question to a child agent that can't analyze the file, depending on the persona, the prompt, and the conversation. Being able to handle files doesn't guarantee that agent gets picked.
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Updated about 1 hour ago