AI / Agentic AI Interview Questions
What is the difference between ReAct and Plan-and-Execute patterns?
| ReAct | Plan-and-Execute |
| Interleaves one reasoning step with one action at a time | Generates a full plan upfront, then executes steps sequentially |
| Naturally adapts mid-task to unexpected tool results | Less naturally adaptive once the plan is fixed |
| Higher token usage due to repeated reasoning cycles | Typically uses fewer tokens on multi-step tasks |
| Better suited to tasks needing iterative refinement | Better suited when cost and execution path predictability matter more |
Choosing between them usually comes down to whether a task's steps are predictable in advance, favoring Plan-and-Execute, or whether the agent needs to react to unexpected conditions along the way, favoring ReAct.
Which pattern reasons before every single action?
Which pattern typically uses fewer tokens on multi-step tasks?
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