Amazon releases Strands Decider 2B for automated workflows

Amazon Web Services has released an open-source decision model called Strands Decider 2B. The tool is designed to sort between pre-decided options and deliver a measure of how confident it is in its choice, offering a fast and low-cost alternative to large language models for specific workflow steps.

Understanding decision models

Unlike traditional large language models that generate open-ended text, decision models are built to select from a closed domain of answers. They act as a decider for automated processes, helping an artificial intelligence agent determine the next step in a sequence. By narrowing the task, these models can offer lower latency and higher reliability.

Strands Decider 2B is built on the torso of an existing model, specifically Qwen3.5-2B. It was developed after distinguished engineer Marc Brooker explored similar architectures and briefly reached the top spot on the Jevbench ranking for models of its size. The project was subsequently adopted by Strands Labs, an organization within Amazon focused on developing tools and protocols for deploying artificial intelligence agents.

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