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Tools vs workflows

The gateway exposes two shapes of interaction. Tools are single calls that return cited data; workflows are multi-stage assessments that produce a structured report. Both run through the same OAuth session and the same MCP fleet — the difference is whether you want a lookup or an analysis.

Tools — single calls

Tools are stateless: send a query, get a cited result. The agent picks one and calls it; the gateway routes it across the relevant MCPs in the fleet. Examples:

  • search(query, jurisdictions, sectors) — full-text search across whichever corpus matches the routing axes.
  • get_provision(uri) — pull a specific article at full fidelity (text, source URL, publisher, license).
  • validate_citation(uri, quote) — round-trip a quote against the canonical source to confirm it still matches.
  • list_coverage(jurisdiction) — what's available in the fleet for a given country.

Use tools when the answerable unit is one citation: "What does Article 32 of GDPR require?" "Has Sweden transposed NIS2 yet?" "Show me the case-law on selection criteria under Sweden's LOU" (case-law fan-out is Premium and above).

Workflows — multi-stage analyses

A workflow runs the same kind of lookups, but threaded through a scripted sequence of stages with a quality gate at each step. The agent calls four tools in turn:

start_workflow(workflow_type: "dpia" | "gap_analysis" | "threat_model" | ...)
get_current_step(workflow_id)            // what to ask the user
submit_response(workflow_id, response)   // hand the user's answer back
generate_report(workflow_id)             // finalise once all stages pass

Between start_workflow and generate_report, the agent drives a conversation: scoping questions, document collection, control or risk assessment, review, then the final report. Each stage's required fields are declared in YAML inside the workflow MCP — the gateway enforces them, so the agent can't skip a step.

Workflow tools are Team and Company tiers. On Premium the same analysis can be assembled by hand — search plus the fan-out sources cover everything the workflow queries; what the workflow adds is the stage validation. The gap analysis guide walks both paths.

When to reach for each

  • Tools — quick lookups, ad-hoc questions, embedding cited data into another conversation, programmatic integration where you control the flow.
  • Workflows (Team and Company) — when you need a defensible report: DPIA, regulatory gap analysis, threat model, tender review. The output is structured so reviewers and auditors can rerun any stage independently.