What is agent mode?
The dial that decides whether an AI agent only drafts, waits for approval, or acts and logs it.
Agent mode — Agent mode is the setting that decides how much an AI agent may do on its own: off, draft (prepare only), review (queue for approval) or auto (execute and log). It lets a team raise autonomy one step at a time.
Why it matters
The same AI agent can be safe or reckless depending on one setting. In off mode it does nothing. In draft mode it prepares an email or a record update but never sends or saves it. In review mode the same output goes into an approval queue for a person to check. In auto mode it executes on its own and writes what it did to a log.
A team that skips straight to auto is trusting an untested agent with real actions on day one. The safer path runs each action type through draft and review first, watches a couple of weeks of outcomes, then moves that specific action to auto while leaving riskier ones in review. A drafting task, like summarising a call, can graduate faster than a sending task, like an outbound email a prospect will actually read. Agent mode is set per action type, not once for the whole system, so a team can trust an agent with scheduling while still reviewing every send.
How agent mode is used
- 1
Start in off or draft
The agent prepares nothing, or prepares output nobody sees acted on.
- 2
Move to review
Prepared actions land in an approval queue for a person to check before they run.
- 3
Watch a clean period
Track how often review catches a real problem versus rubber-stamps the output.
- 4
Promote to auto per action
Low-risk, well-tested actions move to auto while riskier ones stay in review.
- 5
Keep a kill switch nearby
Any mode can be reversed in one step if an agent starts misbehaving.
The mistake to watch for
Questions
- How is agent mode different from a feature flag?
- A feature flag turns a feature on or off for everyone. Agent mode is graduated per action type and controls how much independent judgment an agent gets, from none to full execution.
- Does agent mode apply to the whole system or one action?
- It applies per action type. A team can run drafting in auto while keeping sending in review, so autonomy grows where it has been earned rather than everywhere at once.
- Who should be able to change agent mode?
- Typically an admin or team lead, not the agent itself. Changing mode is a policy decision, and it should leave a record in the audit log like any other change.