How to Choose the Best AI Agent Framework

If you are an AI engineer, thinking how to choose the right foundational model, this one is for you 👇 Whether you’re building an internal AI assistant, a document summarization tool, or real-time analytics workflows, the model you pick will shape performance, cost, governance, and trust. Here’s a distilled framework that’s been helping me and many teams navigate this: 1. Start with your use case, then work backwards. Craft your ideal prompt + answer combo first. Reverse-engineer what knowledge and behavior is needed. Ask: → What are the real prompts my team will use? → Are these retrieval-heavy, multilingual, highly specific, or fast-response tasks? → Can I break down the use case into reusable prompt patterns? 2. Right-size the model. Bigger isn’t always better. A 70B parameter model may sound tempting, but an 8B specialized one could deliver comparable output, faster and cheaper, when paired with: → Prompt tuning → RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) → Instruction tuning via InstructLab Try the best first, but always test if a smaller one can be tuned to reach the same quality. 3. Evaluate performance across three dimensions: → Accuracy: Use the right metric (BLEU, ROUGE, perplexity). → Reliability: Look for transparency into training data, consistency across inputs, and reduced hallucinations. → Speed: Does your use case need instant answers (chatbots, fraud detection) or precise outputs (financial forecasts)? 4. Factor in governance and risk Prioritize models that: → Offer training traceability and explainability → Align with your organization’s risk posture → Allow you to monitor for privacy, bias, and toxicity Responsible deployment begins with responsible selection. 5. Balance performance, deployment, and ROI Think about: → Total cost of ownership (TCO) → Where and how you’ll deploy (on-prem, hybrid, or cloud) → If smaller models reduce GPU costs while meeting performance Also, keep your ESG goals in mind, lighter models can be greener too. 6. The model selection process isn’t linear, it’s cyclical. Revisit the decision as new models emerge, use cases evolve, or infra constraints shift. Governance isn’t a checklist, it’s a continuous layer. My 2 cents 🫰 You don’t need one perfect model. You need the right mix of models, tuned, tested, and aligned with your org’s AI maturity and business priorities. ------------ If you found this insightful, share it with your network ♻️ Follow me (Aishwarya Srinivasan) for more AI insights and educational content ❤️

𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗦𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗔𝗜 𝗔𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗜𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹 — 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲. In the age of Agentic AI, designing a scalable agent requires more than just fine-tuning an LLM. You need a solid foundation built on three key pillars: 𝟭. 𝗖𝗵𝗼𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 → Use modular frameworks like 𝗔𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗦𝗗𝗞, 𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵, 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝘄𝗔𝗜, and 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗲𝗻 to structure autonomous behavior, multi-agent collaboration, and function orchestration. These tools let you move beyond prompt chaining and toward truly intelligent systems. 𝟮. 𝗖𝗵𝗼𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗠𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗿𝘆 → 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁-𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺 𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗿𝘆 allows agents to stay aware of the current context — essential for task completion. → 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗴-𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺 𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗿𝘆 provides access to historical and factual knowledge — crucial for reasoning, planning, and personalization. Tools like 𝗭𝗲𝗽, 𝗠𝗲𝗺𝗚𝗣𝗧, and 𝗟𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗮 support memory injection and context retrieval across sessions. 𝟯. 𝗖𝗵𝗼𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗕𝗮𝘀𝗲 → 𝗩𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗗𝗕𝘀 enable fast semantic search. → 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵 𝗗𝗕𝘀 and 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝘀 support structured reasoning over entities and relationships. → Providers like 𝗪𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗲, 𝗣𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗲, and 𝗡𝗲𝗼𝟰𝗷 offer scalable infrastructure to handle large-scale, heterogeneous knowledge. 𝗕𝗼𝗻𝘂𝘀 𝗟𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿: 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 & 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 → Integrate third-party tools via APIs → Use 𝗠𝗖𝗣 (𝗠𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶-𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗼𝗰𝗼𝗹) 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀 for orchestration → Implement custom 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀 to enable task decomposition, planning, and decision-making Whether you're building a personal AI assistant, autonomous agent, or enterprise-grade GenAI solution—𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹𝘀. Are you using these components in your architecture today?

Most agent frameworks I've used struggle with performance at scale, but I recently tested one that achieves microsecond-level instantiation. The math doesn’t lie: if each agent takes seconds to spin up and consumes megabytes of memory, running the thousands needed for complex workflows becomes infeasible. A new library called Agno addresses this through architectural decisions that prioritize performance without sacrificing functionality. The framework supports 23+ model providers and implements a progressive five-level agent architecture, from basic tool-enabled agents to coordinated multi-agent workflows. Key technical capabilities include: (1) Native multimodal processing - handles text, image, audio, and video inputs without additional preprocessing layers (2) First-class reasoning implementation - agents can explicitly "think through" problems using built-in reasoning tools or custom chain-of-thought approaches (3) Agentic search with hybrid retrieval - combines vector search with keyword matching and re-ranking for improved RAG performance The performance difference is substantial. In head-to-head comparisons with LangGraph, Agno completes instantiation benchmarks before competing frameworks reach halfway through their measurement cycles. Agno also includes pre-built FastAPI routes, structured output handling, session storage, and monitoring capabilities. GitHub repo https://lnkd.in/e8i7EdsC This repo and 40+ curated open-source frameworks and libraries for AI agents builders in my recent post https://lnkd.in/g3fntJVc