The practical AI agent guide
Should this really be an AI agent?
Work out what you actually need before you build something more complicated than the job.
6clear questions
5 minfor a practical check
1personal build brief
Before you build
Start with the work, not the technology.
An AI agent is useful when a job repeats, needs some judgement and moves through several steps. Plenty of work needs something simpler.
This short check helps you choose between a reusable prompt, a skill, a fixed automation or a single agent. No giant system. No unnecessary complexity.
Start small.The best first version is the smallest one that makes a real piece of work easier, safer or more consistent.
01
Describe the jobBegin with a useful outcome, not a tool.
02
Check the patternLook at repetition, rules and judgement.
03
Set the boundaryDecide what AI may prepare or change.
04
Build the right thingLeave human approval where it matters.
Ready when you are
Six questions. One useful first build brief.
No sign-up. Your answers stay on this device.