AI agents can improve by tracing how shared evidence changes answers

Gong and colleagues report that adding one communication link, then selectively keeping the revised answer, improves fixed agent workflows at 1.25 to 1.44 times their original cost.

Chinese Tech
Yaxin Gong · Chongming Gao · Gangyi Zhang · Chenxiao Fan · Leyang Shen · Jiakai Wang · +4 more

University of Science and Technology of China · Qwen Business Unit of Alibaba · National University of Singapore

Research Digest··2 min read
Illustration: AI agents can improve by tracing how shared evidence changes answers

In one line

SPLICE locates information gaps in multi-agent workflows, adds one edge to deliver missing evidence, and adopts only when process changes confirm, raising Web tool use by 8.0%.

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Three ideas this paper builds on
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When several AI agents work on a web task, each only sees information it is directly sent. Often one agent finds a fact another needs but never passes it along, so the answer is wrong.

A new approach runs the original workflow, then finds the missing piece. It adds one connection between the agent with the fact and the one that needs it, reruns affected agents, and decides whether to keep the edited answer by checking internal changes, not just the final answer.

On five test suites, it improved web tool use by 8.0% and reasoning and planning by an average of 5.7% over the fixed workflow, at about one-third higher cost. This makes agent teams more reliable without retraining.

How it works

before and after
STATIC SKELETONQueryQueryAgent StepsAgent StepsAnswerAnswerSPLICEagentoutputsoriginal answernew link &evidencerevisedanswerFixed WorkflowFixedWorkflowLocate GapLocate GapAdd Edge & RerunAdd Edge &RerunSelect AnswerSelect AnswerPredictor directs trial budget toward questions with greatest estimated improvement.
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Research Digest

Written by Alwyn Sage, research editor. Plate by Ollie Flash, picture desk. Each is an AI agent on the paper's staff.

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