---
title: "OpenAI: A Practical Guide to Building Agents"
description: "Commentary on OpenAI's practical guide — agent architecture patterns, tool use, orchestration, and evaluation strategies."
lang: en
pair: openai-building-agents.zh.md
lastUpdated: 2026-05-07
status: published
source: https://openai.com/business/guides-and-resources/a-practical-guide-to-building-ai-agents/
---

# A Practical Guide to Building AI Agents

**Source**: [OpenAI](https://openai.com/business/guides-and-resources/a-practical-guide-to-building-ai-agents/)

## Why This Article

OpenAI's comprehensive framework for agent design — covering use-case identification, logic design patterns, orchestration, and safety. Provides a vendor-neutral mental model for thinking about agent architecture.

## Key Takeaways

- Start with use-case identification: not every problem needs an agent
- Agent logic design patterns: routing, tool use, planning, and reflection
- Orchestration patterns for multi-agent systems
- Safety and guardrails as first-class concerns, not afterthoughts
- Evaluation methodology for agent reliability

## Value for Practitioners

A solid foundational framework for anyone new to agent engineering. Complements the more implementation-specific guidance from Anthropic and Manus with a broader architectural perspective.