AI Agents Learning Roadmap with Resources

Everything about AI Agents

If you want to learn AI Agents the right way, here is a complete roadmap. 16 blogs that take you from what an AI Agent is, all the way to building, evaluating, and shipping one in production. Read them in order.

1. AI Agent Explained

In this blog, we will learn about the AI Agent - what it is, how it is different from a plain LLM, its five core parts, how it works end to end, the main types, and when to use one.

We will cover the following:

• The Big Picture

• What is an AI Agent

• AI Agent vs Plain LLM vs Chatbot

• The Five Core Parts

• How an AI Agent Works End to End

• A Concrete Example: Research Agent

• Types of AI Agents

• What AI Agents Can Do Today

• When to Use an AI Agent

• Common Failure Modes

• Quick Summary

https://outcomeschool.com/blog/ai-agent

2. AI Agent Memory

In this blog, we will learn about AI Agent Memory - why agents need it, the memory stack, the four core operations (write, read, update, forget), how memory flows at runtime, and the common mistakes.

We will cover the following:

• The Big Picture

• Why AI Agents Need Memory

• The Memory Stack

• The Four Core Operations

• How Memory Flows at Runtime

• What to Store and What Not to Store

• Common Mistakes and How to Fix Them

• Quick Summary

https://outcomeschool.com/blog/ai-agent-memory

3. ReAct Agent

In this blog, we will learn about the ReAct Agent - what it is, how it is built, its anatomy, how it thinks and acts, and how to handle its common failure modes.

We will cover the following:

• What is a ReAct Agent

• ReAct Agent vs AI Agent

• Anatomy of a ReAct Agent

• The ReAct Prompt Template

• How a ReAct Agent Thinks and Acts

• A Full Trace Example

• Implementing a ReAct Agent

• Common Failure Modes and How to Fix Them

• Quick Summary

https://outcomeschool.com/blog/react-agent

4. AI Agent Loop

In this blog, we will learn about the AI Agent Loop - what it is, why an AI Agent needs it, the think-act-observe cycle that powers it, how the loop knows when to stop, and the common ways the loop fails.

We will cover the following:

• The Big Picture

• What is the AI Agent Loop

• Why an AI Agent Needs a Loop

• The Think-Act-Observe Cycle

• The Loop Step by Step

• The Loop in Real Code

• Parallel Tool Calls in One Turn

• How the Loop Knows When to Stop

• Common Loop Failures

• Quick Summary

https://outcomeschool.com/blog/ai-agent-loop

5. Reflection Agent

In this blog, we will learn about the Reflection Agent - what it is, how it is built, its anatomy, how it generates, critiques, and revises its own work, and how to handle its common failure modes.

We will cover the following:

• What is a Reflection Agent

• Reflection Agent vs AI Agent

• Anatomy of a Reflection Agent

• How a Reflection Agent Works

• A Full Trace Example

• Reflection Agent vs ReAct Agent

• Common Failure Modes and How to Fix Them

• Quick Summary

https://outcomeschool.com/blog/reflection-agent

6. Plan-and-Execute Agent

In this blog, we will learn about the Plan-and-Execute Agent - what it is, its anatomy, how it plans and runs the steps, how it differs from a ReAct Agent, and how to handle its common failure modes.

We will cover the following:

• What is a Plan-and-Execute Agent

• Plan-and-Execute Agent vs AI Agent

• Anatomy of a Plan-and-Execute Agent

• How a Plan-and-Execute Agent Works

• A Full Trace Example

• Plan-and-Execute Agent vs ReAct Agent

• Common Failure Modes and How to Fix Them

• Quick Summary

https://outcomeschool.com/blog/plan-and-execute-agent

7. Agentic RAG

In this blog, we will learn about Agentic RAG - what it is, why standard RAG falls short, the agentic RAG loop, the three building blocks, the common patterns, when to use it, and the limitations to keep in mind.

We will cover the following:

• The Big Picture

• A Quick Recap of RAG

• A Quick Recap of AI Agent

• Why Standard RAG Falls Short

• What is Agentic RAG

• The Agentic RAG Loop

• The Three Building Blocks

• A Walkthrough with a Real Example

• Common Patterns of Agentic RAG

• Standard RAG vs Agentic RAG

• When to Use Agentic RAG

• Limitations of Agentic RAG

• Quick Summary

https://outcomeschool.com/blog/agentic-rag

8. GraphRAG

In this blog, we will learn about GraphRAG and how it improves retrieval by using a knowledge graph along with vector search.

We will cover the following:

• What is GraphRAG?

• Why normal RAG is not enough

• The big picture of GraphRAG

• How GraphRAG builds the knowledge graph

• How GraphRAG answers a question

• Local search vs Global search

• When to use GraphRAG

• Trade-offs of GraphRAG

• Quick Summary

https://outcomeschool.com/blog/graphrag

9. Context Engineering

In this blog, we will learn about Context Engineering - what it is, why it has become the most important skill for building reliable AI applications, how it differs from Prompt Engineering, the components that make up the context, common patterns like RAG, few-shot examples, tools, and memory, and the best practices and common mistakes to keep in mind.

We will cover the following:

• What is Context Engineering?

• The Big Picture

• Why Context Engineering matters

• Prompt Engineering vs Context Engineering

• The components of the context

• Common patterns in Context Engineering

• Common mistakes to avoid

• Best practices

• Quick Summary

https://outcomeschool.com/blog/context-engineering

10. Multi-Agent Systems

In this blog, we will learn about Multi-Agent Systems - what they are, the three pillars that hold them together, the common agent roles, how agents communicate and coordinate, the trade-offs, and when to use them.

We will cover the following:

• The Big Picture

• What is a Multi-Agent System

• The Three Pillars

• Common Agent Roles

• How Agents Communicate

• How Agents Coordinate

• Multi-Agent vs Single Agent - The Trade-offs

• Common Mistakes

• When to Use a Multi-Agent System

• Quick Summary

https://outcomeschool.com/blog/multi-agent-systems

11. How AI Agents Communicate

In this blog, we will learn about how AI agents communicate. We will understand why agents need to communicate, the main ways they talk to each other, the message format, and the protocols that make agents work together to finish complex tasks.

We will cover the following:

• What is agent communication?

• Why do agents need to communicate?

• What agents need in order to communicate

• How a message flows between agents

• The ways AI agents communicate

• Direct Communication

• Centralized Communication

• Broadcast Communication

• Shared Memory Communication

• What a message looks like

• The rules agents follow to talk

• Challenges when agents communicate

• Best Practices

https://outcomeschool.com/blog/how-ai-agents-communicate

12. AI SubAgents

In this blog, we will learn about AI SubAgents. We will understand what they are, why we need them, how they work, and how to use them to build AI systems that can handle big and complex tasks.

We will cover the following:

• What is an AI Agent?

• What are AI SubAgents?

• Why do we need SubAgents?

• How do SubAgents work?

• Example use case

• Benefits of using SubAgents

• Challenges with SubAgents

• Best practices

https://outcomeschool.com/blog/ai-subagents

13. AI Orchestration

In this blog, we will learn about AI Orchestration. We will understand what it is, why we need it, how it is different from AI Agents, and the common patterns we use to coordinate multiple LLMs, tools, and steps together to build real AI products.

We will cover the following:

• What is AI Orchestration?

• Why do we need AI Orchestration?

• AI Orchestration vs AI Agents

• Components of AI Orchestration

• How AI Orchestration works

• Patterns of AI Orchestration

• Sequential Pattern

• Parallel Pattern

• Conditional Pattern

• Loop Pattern

• Orchestrator-Worker Pattern

• Tools for AI Orchestration

• Challenges in AI Orchestration

• Best Practices

https://outcomeschool.com/blog/ai-orchestration

14. AI Agent Evaluation

In this blog, we will learn about AI Agent Evaluation. We will also see why it is different from LLM Evaluation, the types of evaluation we can do, the key metrics we must track, the methods we can use, and the best practices to follow.

We will cover the following:

• What is an AI Agent?

• What is AI Agent Evaluation?

• Why do we need AI Agent Evaluation?

• How is AI Agent Evaluation different from LLM Evaluation?

• Types of AI Agent Evaluation

• Outcome Evaluation

• Trajectory Evaluation

• Tool Use Evaluation

• Planning Evaluation

• Key Metrics for AI Agents

• Agent Benchmarks

• Methods to Evaluate AI Agents

• Frameworks and Tools for AI Agent Evaluation

• Challenges in AI Agent Evaluation

• Best Practices

https://outcomeschool.com/blog/ai-agent-evaluation

15. AI Agent Observability

In this blog, we will learn about AI Agent Observability. We will also see why we need it, how it is different from normal software monitoring, what we must observe inside an agent, the key concepts like traces and spans, the metrics we must track, the tools we can use, and the best practices to follow.

We will cover the following:

• What is an AI Agent?

• What is Observability?

• What is AI Agent Observability?

• Why do we need AI Agent Observability?

• How is AI Agent Observability different from traditional Observability?

• The Three Pillars of Observability

• Traces and Spans

• What should we observe inside an AI Agent?

• Key Metrics for AI Agent Observability

• How AI Agent Observability works

• Tools and Frameworks for AI Agent Observability

• Observability vs Evaluation

• Challenges in AI Agent Observability

• Best Practices

https://outcomeschool.com/blog/ai-agent-observability

16. Harness Engineering in AI

In this blog, we will learn about Harness Engineering in AI. We will understand what a harness is, why we need it, and how it is used in AI Agents and evaluation systems.

We will cover the following:

• What is a Harness in AI?

• Why do we need Harness Engineering?

• Components of an AI Harness

• Harness Engineering for AI Agents

• Harness Engineering for Evaluation

• Best Practices in Harness Engineering

• Putting It All Together

https://outcomeschool.com/blog/harness-engineering-in-ai

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