Diary of an AI Practitioner
AI agents
What makes something an agent, how to tell a real one from a wrapper, and how they work together.
13 entries
August 5, 2026
Standing Orders: How Agent Instructions Differ From a Prompt
A prompt is a one-time ask. Instructions are standing orders that live with the agent and apply every run. If you retype your rules every session, you have a habit, not an agent.
August 5, 2026
Giving an Agent Hands: What Tools Actually Change
An agent with no tools can only talk. Tools are access to the calendar, the files, the inbox, whatever the job needs. It is the line between advice and action, and it is where the real risk lives.
August 5, 2026
Where to Start With AI Agents: Pick One Real Job
Not a framework, not a whole system. One job, clear instructions, the one tool it needs, and a trigger so it runs without you. Then watch it before you trust it with more.
August 5, 2026
Triggers: What Starts an Agent When You Don't
A trigger is what starts the work without you typing anything. It is the actual line between using a convenient tool and having something work for you, and it is the piece most people skip.
August 5, 2026
Can Your Brand Have an AI Persona? What It Changes
Brands used to need a face: a founder, a mascot, a spokesperson. A brand can now have an AI persona with a name and a voice that shows up every day. It doesn't replace the founder, it removes the ceiling on their hours.
August 4, 2026
Automation or AI Agent? A Light Switch vs a New Hire
People use these as the same word and then get surprised by what they bought. An automation is one trigger and one fixed action. An agent gets a goal and works out the steps.
August 4, 2026
Ask Your AI to Show Its Work, Not Just Do It
AI work is invisible, which is why it feels out of control. Ask the agent to show you the work, not just do it, and the whole thing becomes something you can actually manage.
August 4, 2026
Orchestration, Explained Without the Buzzword
Orchestration means someone or something decides which agent or tool handles which part of a job. Without it you have a pile of tools that don't talk to each other. The real shift is when the routing decision stops being yours.
August 4, 2026
Real AI Agent or Just a Wrapper? Three Questions
Everyone is building agents. Almost nobody is. Three questions settle it before you pay agent prices for prompt value, and calling it a wrapper isn't an insult, it's accurate.
August 4, 2026
What Is an AI Agent? Instructions, Tools, Triggers
An agent needs instructions, tools, and triggers. Miss one and you have a prompt, a script, or a chatbot. Here is the test, and how to apply it to anything being sold to you as an agent.
August 4, 2026
What Is an AI Chief of Staff? A Stage Manager, Not an Usher
Not an executive assistant with a chatbot attached. An AI Chief of Staff routes work to the right place at the right time and catches what falls through the cracks nobody is watching.
July 16, 2026
Netlify Rebuilt Its Platform Around AI Agents
Netlify shipped a major update built around AI agents: Functions redesigned for Agent Experience, an open benchmark called AXIS, and Claude Opus 4.8 live in its AI Gateway. Here's what it means if you're building with Claude.
July 10, 2026
How to Manage AI Agents Like an Executive
The real unlock in agent orchestration isn't directing every agent's every move, it's delegating the orchestration itself and reviewing outcomes like an executive.