# TPTU: Large Language Model-based AI Agents for Task Planning and Tool Usage

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2308.03427 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.03427/

## Key facts

- Cited by 55 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Placed in General LLM agent frameworks and benchmarks, one of 16 directions in LLM agents and tool use.
- Builds on 80 of its 95 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 7 Aug 2023.

## Placed in

- LLM agents and tool use / [General LLM agent frameworks and benchmarks](https://mlsanity.com/agents/general-llm-agent-frameworks-and-benchmarks/)

## Builds on (most cited first, 30 of 80)

- [Language Models are Few-Shot Learners](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2005.14165/) (2020)
- [GPT-4 Technical Report](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.08774/) (2023)
- [Training language models to follow instructions with human feedback](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2203.02155/) (2022)
- [LoRA: Low-Rank Adaptation of Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2106.09685/) (2021)
- [LLaMA: Open and Efficient Foundation Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2302.13971/) (2023)
- [Chain-of-Thought Prompting Elicits Reasoning in Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2201.11903/) (2022)
- [Training Verifiers to Solve Math Word Problems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2110.14168/) (2021)
- [Retrieval-Augmented Generation for Knowledge-Intensive NLP Tasks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2005.11401/) (2020)
- [ReAct: Synergizing Reasoning and Acting in Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2210.03629/) (2022)
- [Parameter-Efficient Transfer Learning for NLP](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1902.00751/) (2019)
- [Toolformer: Language Models Can Teach Themselves to Use Tools](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2302.04761/) (2023)
- [On the Opportunities and Risks of Foundation Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2108.07258/) (2021)
- [Prefix-Tuning: Optimizing Continuous Prompts for Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2101.00190/) (2021)
- [Finetuned Language Models Are Zero-Shot Learners](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2109.01652/) (2021)
- [HotpotQA: A Dataset for Diverse, Explainable Multi-hop Question Answering](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1809.09600/) (2018)
- [Constitutional AI: Harmlessness from AI Feedback](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2212.08073/) (2022)
- [A Survey of Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.18223/) (2023)
- [Do As I Can, Not As I Say: Grounding Language in Robotic Affordances](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2204.01691/) (2022)
- [Voyager: An Open-Ended Embodied Agent with Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.16291/) (2023)
- [REALM: Retrieval-Augmented Language Model Pre-Training](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2002.08909/) (2020)
- [PaLM-E: An Embodied Multimodal Language Model](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.03378/) (2023)
- [RT-1: Robotics Transformer for Real-World Control at Scale](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2212.06817/) (2022)
- [ToolLLM: Facilitating Large Language Models to Master 16000+ Real-world APIs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2307.16789/) (2023)
- [WebGPT: Browser-assisted question-answering with human feedback](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2112.09332/) (2021)
- [Gorilla: Large Language Model Connected with Massive APIs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.15334/) (2023)
- [Improving language models by retrieving from trillions of tokens](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2112.04426/) (2021)
- [WebShop: Towards Scalable Real-World Web Interaction with Grounded Language Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2207.01206/) (2022)
- [Code as Policies: Language Model Programs for Embodied Control](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2209.07753/) (2022)
- [Habitat: A Platform for Embodied AI Research](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1904.01201/) (2019)
- [HuggingGPT: Solving AI Tasks with ChatGPT and its Friends in Hugging Face](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.17580/) (2023)

## Built on by (most cited first, 30 of 55)

- [A Survey on Large Language Model based Autonomous Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.11432/) (2023)
- [The Rise and Potential of Large Language Model Based Agents: A Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2309.07864/) (2023)
- [Large Language Model based Multi-Agents: A Survey of Progress and Challenges](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.01680/) (2024)
- [Memory in the Age of AI Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2512.13564/) (2025)
- [Evaluating Large Language Models: A Comprehensive Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.19736/) (2023)
- [Advances and Challenges in Foundation Agents: From Brain-Inspired Intelligence to Evolutionary, Collaborative, and Safe Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.01990/) (2025)
- [A Survey of Context Engineering for Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2507.13334/) (2025)
- [Planning, Creation, Usage: Benchmarking LLMs for Comprehensive Tool Utilization in Real-World Complex Scenarios](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.17167/) (2024)
- [PlanGenLLMs: A Modern Survey of LLM Planning Capabilities](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.11221/) (2025)
- [From Individual to Society: A Survey on Social Simulation Driven by Large Language Model-based Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2412.03563/) (2024)
- [When LLMs Meet Cybersecurity: A Systematic Literature Review](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.03644/) (2024)
- [Unifying the Perspectives of NLP and Software Engineering: A Survey on Language Models for Code](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.07989/) (2023)
- [Experiential Co-Learning of Software-Developing Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.17025/) (2023)
- [VSP: Assessing the dual challenges of perception and reasoning in spatial planning tasks for VLMs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2407.01863/) (2024)
- [A Survey on the Optimization of Large Language Model-based Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.12434/) (2025)
- [LLMs Meet Multimodal Generation and Editing: A Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.19334/) (2024)
- [ToolFlow: Boosting LLM Tool-Calling Through Natural and Coherent Dialogue Synthesis](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.18447/) (2024)
- [A Survey of Useful LLM Evaluation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.00936/) (2024)
- [Security of AI Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.08689/) (2024)
- [TimeArena: Shaping Efficient Multitasking Language Agents in a Time-Aware Simulation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.05733/) (2024)
- [A Trembling House of Cards? Mapping Adversarial Attacks against Language Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.10196/) (2024)
- [A Comprehensive Survey on Agent Skills: Taxonomy, Techniques, and Applications](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.07358/) (2026)
- [Conveyor: Efficient Tool-aware LLM Serving with Tool Partial Execution](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.00059/) (2024)
- [Encouraging Good Processes Without the Need for Good Answers: Reinforcement Learning for LLM Agent Planning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.19598/) (2025)
- [Toward Efficient Agents: Memory, Tool learning, and Planning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2601.14192/) (2026)
- [VURF: A General-purpose Reasoning and Self-refinement Framework for Video Understanding](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.14743/) (2024)
- [MeMemo: On-device Retrieval Augmentation for Private and Personalized Text Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2407.01972/) (2024)
- [Smart Agent-Based Modeling: On the Use of Large Language Models in Computer Simulations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.06330/) (2023)
- [Talk to Your Slides: High-Efficiency Slide Editing via Language-Driven Structured Data Manipulation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.11604/) (2025)
- [From Interaction to Impact: Towards Safer AI Agents Through Understanding and Evaluating Mobile UI Operation Impacts](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.09006/) (2024)

## Abstract (arXiv)

With recent advancements in natural language processing, Large Language Models (LLMs) have emerged as powerful tools for various real-world applications. Despite their prowess, the intrinsic generative abilities of LLMs may prove insufficient for handling complex tasks which necessitate a combination of task planning and the usage of external tools. In this paper, we first propose a structured framework tailored for LLM-based AI Agents and discuss the crucial capabilities necessary for tackling intricate problems. Within this framework, we design two distinct types of agents (i.e., one-step agent and sequential agent) to execute the inference process. Subsequently, we instantiate the framework using various LLMs and evaluate their Task Planning and Tool Usage (TPTU) abilities on typical tasks. By highlighting key findings and challenges, our goal is to provide a helpful resource for researchers and practitioners to leverage the power of LLMs in their AI applications. Our study emphasizes the substantial potential of these models, while also identifying areas that need more investigation and improvement.