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Add Workflow Evolution guide: agentic ↔ deterministic equilibrium#14615

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Add Workflow Evolution guide: agentic ↔ deterministic equilibrium#14615
Copilot wants to merge 2 commits intomainfrom
copilot/optimize-agentic-workflows

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Copilot AI commented Feb 9, 2026

Addresses the gap in guidance around when to use agentic vs deterministic workflows and how teams should evolve between approaches as patterns mature.

What's Added

New Guide: /guides/workflow-evolution/

Establishes workflows exist on a spectrum (deterministic → hybrid → agentic) with dynamic equilibrium based on task requirements, not fixed ratios.

Decision Framework

7-criteria table for choosing approaches:

  • Input predictability, output requirements, frequency
  • Cost sensitivity, human review needs, pattern maturity, criticality

Includes worked example (security vulnerability triage) showing scoring across dimensions.

Elevating Static → Agentic (3 strategies)

  1. Add AI post-processing - Deterministic data collection → AI interpretation
  2. Replace conditionals with reasoning - Hard-coded logic → natural language instructions
  3. Add research capabilities - Fixed responses → contextual, personalized interactions

Each with before/after code examples showing transformation.

Optimizing Agentic → Static (3 strategies)

  1. Extract patterns into rules - Codify repeated AI decisions as deterministic fast-paths
  2. Codify structure - Separate formatting (deterministic) from content (AI)
  3. Convert to scheduled analysis - Static scanning + conditional AI for critical issues only

Examples show cost/speed improvements while preserving AI for edge cases.

Migration Strategies

  • Gradual conversion (4-week evolution path)
  • A/B testing (parallel workflows)
  • Metrics-driven evolution (accuracy >95% → codify, cost >$100/mo → optimize)

Documentation Updates

  • Cross-referenced from deterministic-agentic-patterns.md, FAQ, how-they-work.mdx
  • Sidebar order: 7 (after existing patterns guide)

Warning

Firewall rules blocked me from connecting to one or more addresses (expand for details)

I tried to connect to the following addresses, but was blocked by firewall rules:

  • telemetry.astro.build
    • Triggering command: /opt/hostedtoolcache/node/24.13.0/x64/bin/node node /home/REDACTED/work/gh-aw/gh-aw/docs/node_modules/.bin/astro build (dns block)

If you need me to access, download, or install something from one of these locations, you can either:


💡 You can make Copilot smarter by setting up custom instructions, customizing its development environment and configuring Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers. Learn more Copilot coding agent tips in the docs.

Co-authored-by: mnkiefer <8320933+mnkiefer@users.noreply.github.com>
Copilot AI changed the title [WIP] Optimize the balance between agentic and static CI/CD workflows Add Workflow Evolution guide: agentic ↔ deterministic equilibrium Feb 9, 2026
Copilot AI requested a review from mnkiefer February 9, 2026 08:36
@mnkiefer mnkiefer closed this Feb 9, 2026
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