Better, Faster, Stronger: Programmatic Skill Learning Best Reduces Agent Cost
Source
Zixi Huang, Xiheng Wang, Andrew Wang, William Jurayj, Bernal Jim\'enez Guti\'errez, Daniel Khashabi, Nicholas Andrews
Author
Zixi Huang, Xiheng Wang, Andrew Wang, William Jurayj, Bernal Jim\'enez Guti\'errez, Daniel Khashabi, Nicholas Andrews
Published
Terms in this piece · Glossary
agent skill — A reusable instruction file that teaches an agent how to do one job well — the procedure, the tools, and what counts as done.
AI agent — An AI system that doesn't just answer once but works toward a goal in a loop — taking actions, reading the results, and deciding what to do next.
Why it matters
agent skillA reusable instruction file that teaches an agent how to do one job well — the procedure, the tools, and what counts as done.Full definition → design is usually argued on capability; this puts a cost frame on it and gives a concrete reason to prefer program-shaped skills over prose ones in long-horizon agents.
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