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To make two AI agents work together, define a bounded task for the first agent, specify the output the second needs, and decide which component owns the final response. A spreadsheet can make those steps visible to a person; it does not itself route work between agents. The orchestrator—code or an agent making a routing decision—controls the handoff.
What a two-agent chain does
A two-agent chain divides a larger task into stages. Agent 1 produces a defined result; Agent 2 uses that result to perform a follow-on task. The workflow is only meaningful when the second stage has a clear input and purpose, and when someone or something handles incomplete or unsuitable output.
For example, Agent 1 could extract key claims from a supplied document into a structured summary. Agent 2 could turn that summary into a concise briefing. This is an illustrative workflow, not a claim about a tested implementation. The spreadsheet layout below is likewise a teaching template: OpenAI’s documentation describes orchestration patterns, not a spreadsheet schema.
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Set up a spreadsheet to make the chain inspectable
Use one row per request if each task has a single result at each stage. These suggested columns expose what was asked, what each agent returned, and whether the next step is appropriate. They are not fields required by an SDK.
| Column | What to record | Used by the next agent? |
|---|---|---|
| Task ID | A unique identifier for the request. | Usually no; it helps people track the record. |
| Original request | The user’s task and relevant context. | Include only if Agent 2 needs the original context. |
| Agent 1 assignment | The bounded work Agent 1 should perform. | No; it documents the first stage. |
| Agent 1 output | The result in the format Agent 2 is instructed to expect. | Yes; this is the core handoff input. |
| Review/status | A human-readable state such as ready, needs review, or blocked. | Only if the orchestrator uses it to decide whether to continue. |
| Agent 2 assignment | The follow-on task and directions for using Agent 1’s result. | No; it defines the second stage. |
| Agent 2 output | The second-stage result. | Not applicable; it is an output. |
| Final review | Who accepted, edited, or rejected the result, and any needed note. | No; it records ownership and disposition. |
For a spreadsheet-only prototype, a person may copy the relevant cells into each agent’s prompt and update status manually. In a software implementation, the spreadsheet is an interface or record only if the application is actually built to read from or write to it. The cited documentation does not establish automatic spreadsheet compatibility, persistence, or permissions.
Write prompts that define the handoff
Illustrative prompt for Agent 1: “Extract the document’s main claims. Return a JSON object with a short summary, a list of claims, and a source location for each claim. If the document does not support a claim, mark it as uncertain rather than filling the gap.”
Illustrative prompt for Agent 2: “Using Agent 1’s output, write a concise briefing for the original request. Do not add claims unsupported by the supplied result. If a required field is missing or the result is unsuitable, return a needs-review status and explain what is missing instead of completing the briefing.”
These prompts are examples, not a validated schema. Choose a format that your implementation can reliably pass and interpret. The important design choices are to state what Agent 1 must return, tell Agent 2 how to use it, and define what happens when the expected result is absent or unusable.
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Choose who owns the final answer
The agents’ sequence does not determine who is accountable for the user-facing result. OpenAI’s Agent Orchestration guide distinguishes manager-led specialist work from a handoff to a specialist:
- Manager with agents as tools: A manager invokes one or more specialists for bounded subtasks, combines their outputs, and remains responsible for the user-facing answer. “Use agents as tools when the specialist should help with a subtask but should not take over the user-facing conversation.” This is the guide’s wording.
- Handoff: A triage agent routes work to a specialist, which becomes the active agent for the rest of that turn. The guide says the handoff preserves conversation context while narrowing the active instructions. Choose this when the specialist should own the next response or workflow branch.
These are different control-flow choices, not interchangeable labels for putting two outputs in spreadsheet cells. Decide whether the manager or the specialist is expected to finish the interaction, then make that ownership visible in your workflow and review process.
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Decide whether code or an agent controls the next step
In a code-defined chain, the application explicitly takes Agent 1’s result, transforms it if needed, and supplies it as Agent 2’s input. The orchestration guide describes code orchestration as a way to make the flow more deterministic and predictable in speed, cost, and performance than relying on a model to make every orchestration decision. That is a qualitative description, not a guarantee of a particular result or savings.
Alternatively, an agent can decide whether to call a specialist or route the task onward. That gives the model a role in choosing the path. A spreadsheet may show the choice and its result, but the application or agent—not the row itself—must implement the control flow. Adding a second agent alone does not ensure the output is suitable or the chain is reliable.
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Choose an implementation route
OpenAI’s orchestration documentation distinguishes options by who runs the agent loop and manages state. The Agents SDK runs in the developer’s application, so deployment, storage, approvals, and runtime integration remain under application control. The Agents API is a managed harness. The Responses API is a lower-level option for direct model calls or a custom agent implementation. A spreadsheet-based tutorial can therefore be a manual exercise or part of a coded system; the sources do not establish that any of these options automatically connects to a spreadsheet.
When moving from a visible prototype to software, verify the specific library or API version, spreadsheet integration, permissions, and storage behavior in the implementation you plan to use. Do not assume a spreadsheet automatically persists agent state or that a particular integration is available.
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