Use group chat orchestration
Unit 6 of 10 · Module 14: Orchestrate a multi-agent solution using the Microsoft Agent Framework
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The bandleader points
At a jazz jam session, the bandleader points at one player, then another, to take the next solo, and everyone hears everything. Group chat orchestration puts several agents, and sometimes a person, in one shared conversation. An orchestrator in the middle picks who speaks next. It can be free-flowing brainstorming, or a formal process with roles and approvals. Everything happens in one thread you can read back, which makes it easy to audit. Usually, the agents add to the conversation rather than changing live systems.
Maker and checker
Group chat shines for brainstorming, debates that reach a decision, conversations across different disciplines, and quality checks from several experts. One classic loop is maker and checker. The maker drafts something, the checker reviews it and pushes back, and the maker revises, round after round, until it's good. Avoid group chat when a simple pipeline would do, when speed matters more than discussion, when the orchestrator can't tell when the work is finished, or when so many agents are talking that the conversation gets hard to steer.
In code
In code, build it with GroupChatBuilder: your participants, like a researcher and a writer, and a termination condition that says when to stop, like after four messages, plus an optional limit on rounds. You choose how the next speaker is picked. A selection function can go round-robin, or follow your own rules. Or give it an orchestrator agent with instructions like: start with the researcher, then have the writer finish. Each agent keeps its own session, and the orchestrator shares every reply with the others, so they all follow along. Stream the run to watch each agent speak, and the final output is the orchestrator's closing message. Unlike concurrent, only one agent speaks at a time.
Facts from Microsoft's documentation: Workflow orchestrations in Agent Framework; Group chat orchestration (CC BY 4.0), rewritten in Loop's own words and examples. Narration, animation, and quiz by Loop. Microsoft, Azure, and Microsoft Foundry are trademarks of Microsoft. Loop is independent and not affiliated with or endorsed by Microsoft.