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The multi-step logical process an AI agent follows to move from an initial objective to a final action or output.
For agentic AI governance, the reasoning chain is the internal monologue of the AI. Tracking this chain is essential for traceability and auditability under the EU AI Act. It allows human auditors to see not just what the agent did, but why it chose a specific tool or path at each intermediate step, which is critical for root-cause analysis after a failure.
Real world example:
A travel-booking agent's reasoning chain shows it first checked flight availability, then compared loyalty points, then checked the traveler's calendar, and finally chose a flight that maximized points while avoiding a meeting conflict.
