Google ADK 2.0 ParallelAgent: Research Briefs in 45 Minutes

Google ADK 2.0 is the open-source multi-agent framework with ParallelAgent, SequentialAgent, and LoopAgent patterns. Available in Python, TypeScript, Go, Java, and Kotlin, ADK 2.0 uses Gemini 2.5 Flash as its primary reasoning engine. The Orchestrator agent decomposes complex research questions, dispatches parallel child agents, evaluates results against quality rubrics, and compiles the final output. Research briefs that take 4 hours manually are completed in 45 minutes with 2-3x more source coverage. (Source: Google Cloud AI Agent Trends Report, 2026)

The Real Problem

Knowledge workers spend 40-60% of their time gathering and synthesizing information. A consulting firm with 50 analysts billing $200/hour loses $8,000-12,000 per analyst per month. According to Google Cloud's 2026 report (survey of 3,466 executives), 71% identify multi-step research as their highest-priority automation target. Linear tools break down because research is non-linear — discovering one fact often requires revising earlier assumptions. (Source: Google Cloud AI Agent Trends Report, 2026)

[ STAT ] 71% of organizations identify multi-step research and analysis as their highest-priority automation target. — Google Cloud AI Agent Trends Report, 2026

What This Workflow Actually Does

ADK 2.0's Orchestrator decomposes research questions, dispatches parallel child agents with dedicated tools, evaluates results against a 3-axis rubric (authority, recency, consistency), and spawns LoopAgents to resolve contradictions.

[TOOL: Google ADK 2.0] Open-source multi-agent framework. Apache 2.0. ParallelAgent, SequentialAgent, LoopAgent. Native Gemini integration. pip install google-adk.

[TOOL: Gemini 2.5 Flash] Fastest Gemini model. 1M token context. Best for high-throughput sub-agents. API at aistudio.google.com.

[TOOL: Vertex AI] Production deployment with auto-scaling. Google Cloud required.

Who This Is Built For

For strategy consultants: 10-15 briefs/week → 45 minutes each with 3x source coverage.

For investment analysts: track 20+ companies across earnings, filings, news, and social signals.

For product managers: competitive intelligence, user research, market sizing from raw data to executive summary.

How It Runs Step by Step

Query Decomposition: Orchestrator decomposes questions into 3-5 parallelizable sub-questions.
Parallel Dispatch: ParallelAgent spawns one child agent per sub-question with dedicated tools.
Quality Gate: Orchestrator evaluates results on authority, recency, and consistency.
Cross-Reference: LoopAgent resolves contradictions across child outputs.
Human Review: Draft findings with citations, confidence scores, and gaps.
Report Assembly: Final output delivered to Google Docs, Notion, or email.

Setup and Tools

Google ADK: pip install google-adk. Python/TS/Go/Java/Kotlin. Gotcha: Graph workflow editor is Python-only for complex graphs.

Gemini 2.5: API key at aistudio.google.com (free: 1,000 requests/day). Gotcha: Effective reasoning degrades past ~200K tokens.

The Numbers

▸ Research brief: 4 hours → 45 minutes with ParallelAgent ▸ Source coverage: 4-6 → 12-18 sources per brief ▸ Analyst throughput: 2-3 → 8-10 briefs/day ▸ Monthly API cost (50 briefs): $200-400 production ▸ Time to first ROI: week 1 (Source: Google Cloud AI Agent Trends Report, 2026)

What It Cannot Do

Cannot access private data without explicit tool configuration.
Simple queries don't benefit from ADK orchestration overhead.
Built-in eval doesn't monitor production drift.

Start in 10 Minutes

(2 min) Install ADK: pip install google-adk
(3 min) Get Gemini API key at aistudio.google.com
(5 min) Run quickstart: adk.dev/docs/quickstart
(5 min) Deploy: gcloud ai agents deploy --region us-central1

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How much does ADK cost to run? A: ADK is free (Apache 2.0). You pay for Gemini API ($0.15-3.00/1M tokens) and Vertex AI hosting. (Source: Google Cloud Pricing, 2026)

Q: Can I use ADK with non-Google models? A: Yes. ADK is model-agnostic. Works with Claude, GPT, or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint.

Q: Can ADK handle 100+ agents? A: Yes. Google deploys ADK systems with hundreds of agents in production. The hierarchical architecture keeps context manageable.