让大模型工作流自动优化提示词,提升效率与准确率。
LLM-AutoDiff: Auto-Differentiate Any LLM Workflow
- 将提示词视为可训练参数,用文本梯度迭代优化
- 在多跳问答和智能体流程中显著提升准确率与训练效率
- 适合需要自动化复杂提示工程的研究者与开发者
大型语言模型(LLMs)已重塑自然语言处理,驱动从多跳检索到自主智能体工作流的广泛应用。然而,提示工程——即设计有效引导模型的文本输入——仍困难且耗时,尤其在整合多个LLM调用与检索、格式化等操作的复杂流水线中。我们提出LLM-AutoDiff:一种新型自动提示工程框架,将文本梯度方法(如Text-Grad)扩展至多组件、可能含循环的LLM架构。该框架基于AdalFlow实现,将每个文本输入视为可训练参数,并利用冻结的反向引擎模型生成类文本梯度反馈,指导迭代优化。相比单节点方法,它天然支持功能节点,保留重复调用的时间顺序性(如多跳循环),并通过隔离不同子提示解决“中间丢失”问题。同时,通过选择性梯度计算聚焦错误样本,提升训练效率。在单步分类、多跳检索问答及代理驱动流水线等任务中,其性能持续优于现有文本梯度基线,在准确率和训练成本上均表现更优。通过图视角统一提示优化,LLM-AutoDiff为规模化自动化大模型工作流提供了强大新范式,类比于自动微分在神经网络研究中的变革性作用。
原文摘要 · Abstract (English)
Large Language Models (LLMs) have reshaped natural language processing, powering applications from multi-hop retrieval and question answering to autonomous agent workflows. Yet, prompt engineering -- the task of crafting textual inputs to effectively direct LLMs -- remains difficult and labor-intensive, particularly for complex pipelines that combine multiple LLM calls with functional operations like retrieval and data formatting. We introduce LLM-AutoDiff: a novel framework for Automatic Prompt Engineering (APE) that extends textual gradient-based methods (such as Text-Grad) to multi-component, potentially cyclic LLM architectures. Implemented within the AdalFlow library, LLM-AutoDiff treats each textual input as a trainable parameter and uses a frozen backward engine LLM to generate feedback-akin to textual gradients -- that guide iterative prompt updates. Unlike prior single-node approaches, LLM-AutoDiff inherently accommodates functional nodes, preserves time-sequential behavior in repeated calls (e.g., multi-hop loops), and combats the "lost-in-the-middle" problem by isolating distinct sub-prompts (instructions, formats, or few-shot examples). It further boosts training efficiency by focusing on error-prone samples through selective gradient computation. Across diverse tasks, including single-step classification, multi-hop retrieval-based QA, and agent-driven pipelines, LLM-AutoDiff consistently outperforms existing textual gradient baselines in both accuracy and training cost. By unifying prompt optimization through a graph-centric lens, LLM-AutoDiff offers a powerful new paradigm for scaling and automating LLM workflows - mirroring the transformative role that automatic differentiation libraries have long played in neural network research.
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