Streaming workflow as agent

[MrAssel]

Hi,
I’m building a multi-agent system using Workflows and running into a streaming issue. I’m hoping someone can confirm whether I’m using Workflows as intended, or suggest a better pattern.

TL;DR

• A simple handoff between two agents streams correctly.
• Replacing one agent with a workflow that composes agents + function executors breaks streaming: internal agents stream directly to the caller, and function executors do not support streaming.
• Question: Is composing agents + function executors inside a workflow and exposing that workflow as an agent the intended pattern for streaming scenarios? If not, what is the recommended approach?

Working case (hand-off between agents)

AIAgent workflowAgent = await AgentWorkflowBuilder.CreateHandoffBuilderWith(OrchestratorAgent)
    .WithHandoffs(OrchestratorAgent, [SearchAgent])
    .WithHandoffs(SearchAgent, [OrchestratorAgent])
    .Build()
    .AsAgentAsync();

await foreach (var response in workflowAgent.RunStreamingAsync(message, agentThread, options, cancellationToken: cancellationToken))

New design (SearchWorkflowAgent used in place of SearchAgent)
This is a simple representation, in the end I will have switch cases and multiple data sources that will be called depending on the queryAnalysis.

WorkflowBuilder builder = new(queryAnalysisAgent);
builder
    .AddEdge(source: queryAnalysisAgent, target: getDataExecutor)
    .AddEdge(source: getDataExecutor, target: answerAgent)
    .WithOutputFrom(answerAgent);

var searchWorkflow = builder.Build();
var searchWorkflowAgent = await searchWorkflow.AsAgentAsync(name: "search_workflow");

Goal:

• queryAnalysisAgent analyzes the prompt and extracts filters.
• getDataExecutor calls the DB / function to fetch/transform data.
• answerAgent formats the answer and returns it.

The problem

• When I run the workflow as an agent and call RunStreamingAsync from the orchestrator, the first agent inside the workflow begins streaming directly to the user instead of the workflow funneling a single stream.
• Function executors do not support streaming, which is what I’ve been using for the DB/transform step — so I can’t move the streaming behavior into an executor node.
• If the workflow contains multiple agents (agent → agent → agent), each agent in the workflow appears to stream back to the caller — producing multiple streams rather than a single workflow-level stream.
• Expected behavior: OrchestratorAgent.RunStreamingAsync(...) → the workflow runs internally and the workflow returns a single streaming response (from the workflow’s terminal node). Internal agents/executors should not independently stream to the user.

Workarounds I considered

• Run the entire flow as a workflow (not as an agent) — but then I lose the AgentThread / agent-level execution model I rely on.
• Keep Search as a single agent with multiple tools— simpler streaming behavior, but less deterministic and harder to test.

Question

• Is it intended that workflows, when exposed as agents, allow internal agents to stream directly to the caller?

Using .NET / Agent Framework: 1.0.0-preview.251009.1

[moonbox3]

Adding @alliscode