Surface Squads: Two Operating Models for Multi-Agent Teams
A support desk and a research sprint may both use five agents, but they do not behave like the same team. Today we added two first-class Surface squad types so the deployment model can say which operating model is intended instead of forcing every team through one generic orchestrator.
Orchestrator Squads Stay Available
An orchestrator squad is the right shape when one visible coordinator owns the conversation and routes work to stable members. Think of an operations command center: the user speaks to a lead, the lead knows the specialists, and those specialists remain available across many turns.
This is a durable team. Members have real handles and independent health. The orchestrator can choose whether to consult one member, fan out, or synthesize several answers. Surface can render the membership and status because the squad definition and the runtime agents share the same handles.
Task Squads Optimize for an Objective
A task squad begins from a different premise: the user gives the team an objective, the team plans the work, and execution continues until the plan is complete or a safety boundary stops it. Its essential machinery is a todo list, an iteration loop, background delegation, an executor, and subject-matter experts who can unblock difficult steps.
The task squad is intentionally one-turn from the user's point of view. The objective may require many internal iterations, but the interface remains simple: submit the outcome you need and receive the consolidated result. Durable state protects that work from grain deactivation without exposing every internal exchange as a new user turn.
Why the Type Is Explicit
We could infer a squad type from which fields happen to be present. We chose not to. A Blueprint should be reviewable as an operational contract. When it says type: orchestrator, reviewers know there is a durable conversational coordinator. When it says type: task, they know the system will create a bounded autonomous work loop.
Explicit types also let validation be useful. A task squad can require the roles and limits it needs; an orchestrator squad can validate its coordinator and members. Configuration errors fail at provisioning rather than becoming vague behavior inside a model turn.
The new Surface Squads guide shows both schemas and how each maps to runtime handles.