The Endurance Challenge
A multi-step task is any objective that requires more than a single reasoning cycle to complete. The challenge for the agent is maintaining "Contextual Integrity" over long durations. This is handled through **State Management** and **Checkpointing**, where the agent saves its progress after every successful sub-task.
Orchestration and Chaining
Agents use "Chaining" to link the output of one step to the input of the next. In a complex workflow (e.g., "Onboard a new client"), the agent orchestrates multiple chains--handling document verification, system access, and welcome communications--ensuring that every step is completed in the correct order and with the correct data.
Conclusion
The ability to handle multi-step tasks is what transforms an AI from a tool into a teammate. By providing agents with the endurance and organizational skills to manage long workflows, we are opening up a new era of end-to-end automation.