Planning | HyperKit.ai

Definition

Planning in AI agents refers to breaking down complex goals into actionable steps, determining the order of operations, and creating a structured approach to task completion. Good planning enables agents to tackle multi-step problems systematically.

Planning transforms vague goals into concrete action sequences that can be executed step by step.

Key Concepts

Decomposition: Breaking big tasks into smaller subtasks
Sequencing: Ordering steps for logical execution
Dependency tracking: Understanding which steps need others first
Re-planning: Adapting plan when obstacles arise

Examples

Approaches

Planning Strategies

PLANNING APPROACHES:

1. TOP-DOWN DECOMPOSITION
   Goal: Build a website
      ├─→ Design
      │    ├─→ Wireframes
      │    └─→ Visual design
      ├─→ Development
      │    ├─→ Frontend
      │    └─→ Backend
      └─→ Deployment
           ├─→ Testing
           └─→ Launch

2. PLAN-AND-EXECUTE (Upfront)
   ┌────────────────────────────────┐
   │  Create complete plan first   │
   │  ↓                            │
   │  Execute steps sequentially   │
   │  ↓                            │
   │  Re-plan only if blocked      │
   └────────────────────────────────┘

3. DYNAMIC RE-PLANNING
   ┌────────────────────────────────┐
   │  Plan next few steps          │
   │  ↓                            │
   │  Execute                      │
   │  ↓                            │
   │  Observe results              │
   │  ↓                            │
   │  Adjust plan, repeat          │
   └────────────────────────────────┘

4. HIERARCHICAL PLANNING
   High-level plan (abstract goals)
         ↓
   Mid-level plan (concrete tasks)
         ↓
   Low-level plan (specific actions)

Example

Agent Planning in Action

GOAL: "Analyze competitor pricing and create a report"

PLANNING PHASE:

Think: "This task requires multiple steps:
1. First, I need to identify competitors
2. Then gather their pricing data
3. Analyze the data for insights
4. Create a formatted report

Let me plan dependencies:
- Steps 2-4 depend on step 1
- Steps 3-4 depend on step 2
- Step 4 depends on step 3"

GENERATED PLAN:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Step 1: Identify Competitors                │
│ - Search for companies in same market       │
│ - Filter to top 5 direct competitors        │
│ Dependencies: None                          │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Step 2: Gather Pricing Data                 │
│ - Visit each competitor website             │
│ - Extract pricing information               │
│ - Record in structured format               │
│ Dependencies: Step 1                        │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Step 3: Analyze Data                        │
│ - Compare pricing tiers                     │
│ - Calculate averages and ranges             │
│ - Identify positioning opportunities        │
│ Dependencies: Step 2                        │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Step 4: Create Report                       │
│ - Summarize findings                        │
│ - Create comparison table                   │
│ - Add recommendations                       │
│ Dependencies: Step 3                        │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────┘

EXECUTION:
"Now executing Step 1: Identify Competitors..."
[Tool: web_search("competitors in [industry]")]
...
"Step 1 complete. Moving to Step 2..."

Interactive Exercise

✎

Create a Plan

Create a plan for this goal: "Set up automated email marketing for a new product launch"

Pro Tips

Plans should have verifiable completion criteria for each step
Include contingency steps for likely failure modes
Keep plans flexible—rigid plans fail in dynamic environments
Shorter plans are usually better; decompose further only when needed

Definition

Key Concepts

Examples

Interactive Exercise

Related Terms