What is the difference between automation and orchestration?

Automation performs a task with less manual work. Orchestration coordinates many automated steps, systems, or services into a larger process. For example, an automation might send a notification when a form is submitted. Orchestration might validate the form, call several APIs, wait for approval, update records, handle failures, and notify multiple teams. In AI systems, this distinction matters because an agent is rarely just one action. Diagrid Catalyst fits the orchestration side: coordinating durable agent workflows while the agent framework handles reasoning and task behavior.