zetl

Beyond Self-Talk: A Communication-Centric Survey of LLM-Based Multi-Agent Systems

Reference: Yan, Zhou, Zhang, Zhang, Zhou, Miao, Li, Li, Zhang (2025). arXiv:2502.14321. Source file: 2502.14321.pdf. URL

Summary

This review argues that prior surveys of LLM-based Multi-Agent Systems (LLM-MAS) over-emphasise application domains and agent architectures while neglecting the communication layer that actually enables collaboration. The authors propose a two-level analytical framework separating system-level communication (architecture, goals, and protocols — how agents are organised) from system-internal communication (strategies, paradigms, objects, and content — what messages carry and how they are interpreted).

Drawing on classical communication theory’s source/channel split, they decompose LLM-MAS workflows into speaker/listener, message format, negotiation paradigm, and coordination protocol, then survey representative works under each cell. The review highlights communication efficiency, security vulnerabilities, and benchmark inadequacy as primary open problems.

Key Ideas

  • Communication as the missing analytical layer in LLM-MAS surveys.
  • Two-level framework: system-level (architecture, goal, protocol) vs system-internal (strategy, paradigm, object, content) communication.
  • Adoption of Shannon-style source/channel abstractions to describe LLM agent exchanges.
  • Brain / Perception / Action model of LLM agents as the atomic communication node.
  • Open issues: scalability, security of inter-agent channels, multimodal message formats, benchmarking.

Connections

Conceptual Contribution

  • Claim: The analytical primitive for understanding LLM-MAS is communication, not architecture; a two-level framework (system-level vs system-internal) captures how message protocol choices shape emergent collective behaviour.
  • Mechanism: Repurposes classical communication-theory distinctions (source/channel, architecture/content) as a taxonomy, then classifies and compares LLM-MAS workflows under each axis, exposing gaps in current designs.
  • Concepts introduced/used: LLM Agents, Multi-Agent Systems, Agent Communication Languages, Interoperability
  • Stance: survey
  • Relates to: Complements Survey Of Agent Interoperability Protocols by analysing communication patterns inside MAS, whereas that survey focuses on inter-agent wire protocols. Shares the communication-first lens with KQML Language And Protocol and FIPA-ACL but reframed for LLM agents.

Tags

#llm-agents #multi-agent-systems #survey #communication #agent-protocols

Backlinks