Should every project workflow become an AI agent?
Unnecessary autonomyStart with the user problem and the least complex reliable solution. A deterministic rule, search, form improvement, or assisted draft may solve it better than autonomous action. Use agents only where bounded decisions, clear permissions, evaluation, and recovery justify the added complexity.
What to do now
- Define the actual user bottleneck
- Compare rules search and assisted drafting
- Assess the need for autonomous actions
- Pilot the simplest approach that meets the goal
When to escalate
Autonomy introduces risks without a measurable user benefit.
The AI service owner and relevant authorized reviewer
Example
A missing-field check is implemented as a form rule rather than an agent that reads every submission.
Mistake to avoid
Adding an agent because the feature needs an AI label.
Prevent a repeat
Re-evaluate after changes to models, prompts, tools or source data; keep important decisions accountable to people.
Suggested ApprovedFlow setup
- Tasks
- Documents
- Approvals
Track evaluation and review tasks, and keep approved evidence with the work; do not claim the platform provides an unverified AI agent or automated diagnosis. See the platform
Related cases
- An AI agent can approve expenses automatically. Should we enable it?Excessive automated decision authority
- The agent changed many records incorrectly. How do we recover?Insufficient action traceability and rollback
- The project manager assigns every task in an agile team. Is that necessary?Overcentralized work coordination
- Our team has a different definition of ready for every item. Is that a problem?Inconsistent work preparation