.NET: Sample demonstrating the use of agents in workflows (#1836)

* add sample demonstrating the use of agents in workflows

* Update dotnet/samples/Catalog/AgentsInWorkflows/README.md

Co-authored-by: Copilot <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

* use type instead of var

---------

Co-authored-by: Copilot <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

dotnet/agent-framework-dotnet.slnx

@@ -137,6 +137,7 @@
     <Project Path="samples/GettingStarted/Workflows/_Foundational/07_MixedWorkflowAgentsAndExecutors/07_MixedWorkflowAgentsAndExecutors.csproj" />
   </Folder>
   <Folder Name="/Samples/Catalog/">
+    <Project Path="samples/Catalog/AgentsInWorkflows/AgentsInWorkflows.csproj" />
     <Project Path="samples/Catalog/DeepResearchAgent/DeepResearchAgent.csproj" />
   </Folder>
   <Folder Name="/Solution Items/">

dotnet/samples/Catalog/AgentsInWorkflows/AgentsInWorkflows.csproj

@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+<Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk">
+
+  <PropertyGroup>
+    <OutputType>Exe</OutputType>
+    <TargetFramework>net9.0</TargetFramework>
+
+    <Nullable>enable</Nullable>
+    <ImplicitUsings>enable</ImplicitUsings>
+  </PropertyGroup>
+
+  <ItemGroup>
+    <PackageReference Include="Azure.AI.OpenAI" />
+    <PackageReference Include="Azure.Identity" />
+    <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Extensions.AI.OpenAI" />
+  </ItemGroup>
+
+  <ItemGroup>
+    <ProjectReference Include="..\..\..\src\Microsoft.Agents.AI.Workflows\Microsoft.Agents.AI.Workflows.csproj" />
+    <ProjectReference Include="..\..\..\src\Microsoft.Agents.AI.AzureAI\Microsoft.Agents.AI.AzureAI.csproj" />
+    <ProjectReference Include="..\..\..\src\Microsoft.Agents.AI\Microsoft.Agents.AI.csproj" />
+  </ItemGroup>
+
+</Project>

dotnet/samples/Catalog/AgentsInWorkflows/Program.cs

@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+// Copyright (c) Microsoft. All rights reserved.
+
+// This sample demonstrates how to integrate AI agents into a workflow pipeline.
+// Three translation agents are connected sequentially to create a translation chain:
+// English → French → Spanish → English, showing how agents can be composed as workflow executors.
+
+using Azure.AI.OpenAI;
+using Azure.Identity;
+using Microsoft.Agents.AI;
+using Microsoft.Agents.AI.Workflows;
+using Microsoft.Extensions.AI;
+
+// Set up the Azure OpenAI client
+var endpoint = Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("AZURE_OPENAI_ENDPOINT") ?? throw new InvalidOperationException("AZURE_OPENAI_ENDPOINT is not set.");
+var deploymentName = Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("AZURE_OPENAI_DEPLOYMENT_NAME") ?? "gpt-4o-mini";
+
+IChatClient chatClient = new AzureOpenAIClient(new Uri(endpoint), new AzureCliCredential())
+    .GetChatClient(deploymentName)
+    .AsIChatClient();
+
+// Create agents
+AIAgent frenchAgent = GetTranslationAgent("French", chatClient);
+AIAgent spanishAgent = GetTranslationAgent("Spanish", chatClient);
+AIAgent englishAgent = GetTranslationAgent("English", chatClient);
+
+// Build the workflow by adding executors and connecting them
+Workflow workflow = new WorkflowBuilder(frenchAgent)
+    .AddEdge(frenchAgent, spanishAgent)
+    .AddEdge(spanishAgent, englishAgent)
+.Build();
+
+// Execute the workflow
+await using StreamingRun run = await InProcessExecution.StreamAsync(workflow, new ChatMessage(ChatRole.User, "Hello World!"));
+
+// Must send the turn token to trigger the agents.
+// The agents are wrapped as executors. When they receive messages,
+// they will cache the messages and only start processing when they receive a TurnToken.
+await run.TrySendMessageAsync(new TurnToken(emitEvents: true));
+await foreach (WorkflowEvent evt in run.WatchStreamAsync())
+{
+    if (evt is AgentRunUpdateEvent executorComplete)
+    {
+        Console.WriteLine($"{executorComplete.ExecutorId}: {executorComplete.Data}");
+    }
+}
+
+static ChatClientAgent GetTranslationAgent(string targetLanguage, IChatClient chatClient) =>
+    new(chatClient, $"You are a translation assistant that translates the provided text to {targetLanguage}.");

dotnet/samples/Catalog/AgentsInWorkflows/README.md

@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+# What this sample demonstrates
+
+This sample demonstrates the use of AI agents as executors within a workflow.
+
+This workflow uses three translation agents:
+1. French Agent - translates input text to French
+2. Spanish Agent - translates French text to Spanish
+3. English Agent - translates Spanish text back to English
+
+The agents are connected sequentially, creating a translation chain that demonstrates how AI-powered components can be seamlessly integrated into workflow pipelines.
+
+## Prerequisites
+
+Before you begin, ensure you have the following prerequisites:
+
+- .NET 8.0 SDK or later
+- Azure OpenAI service endpoint and deployment configured
+- Azure CLI installed and authenticated (for Azure credential authentication)
+
+**Note**: This demo uses Azure CLI credentials for authentication. Make sure you're logged in with `az login` and have access to the Azure OpenAI resource. For more information, see the [Azure CLI documentation](https://learn.microsoft.com/cli/azure/authenticate-azure-cli-interactively).
+
+Set the following environment variables:
+
+```powershell
+$env:AZURE_OPENAI_ENDPOINT="https://your-resource.openai.azure.com/" # Replace with your Azure OpenAI resource endpoint
+$env:AZURE_OPENAI_DEPLOYMENT_NAME="gpt-4o-mini"  # Optional, defaults to gpt-4o-mini