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[ARTICLE · art-114641] src=news.ycombinator.com ↗ pub= topic=artificial-intelligence verified=true sentiment=· neutral

Is "An agent with tools" the only valid LLM application?

A Hacker News post questions whether 'an agent with tools' is the only valid LLM application, citing Brex's CEO's stance, and argues for end-to-end workflows that require minimal user feedback, despite acknowledging the need for conversable agents when output accuracy is uncertain.

read1 min views1 publishedAug 28, 2026

Brex's CEO said this and I understand where he comes from, but is there a place for end to end workflows in LLM based applications? At the end of the day I agree that cutting edge software should be fully usable by agents, but I can't decide if every product should be an agent. I personally hate the UX of most agentic applications. I have this fantasy of future products where I can simply enter input X and get output Y without having to give feedback on every little thing. Of course when you're designing something it needs to be a process, but what if I can tell my phone to "buy dinner" and it just does it without bothering me at every step? What if it was just good enough? I think a conversable agent is necessary as long as the application is unsure of the accuracy of the output, but I wonder if the UX of LLM applications could be more like a rich person fixing their car, like here is my situation, just do what you need to do and don't bother me.

Comments URL: [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49484000](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49484000)

Points: 1

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