Designing AI agents that are reliable, controllable, and useful · Maxime Bodereau
Do Less. See It
Through.
A practical book for designing AI agents that show their intent, hand back control, and know when to stop.
Selected excerpts. Not a summary in disguise.
The distinction
A chatbot is not an agent.
An assistant answers a question. An automation follows predefined steps. An agent receives an objective, chooses a sequence of actions, and can change its environment.
The risk
A wrong action leaves a mark.
An answer stays inside the conversation. An action leaves the screen: it edits a file, sends a message, creates a task, or triggers a purchase.
The rule
Every capability needs a limit.
Every action needs proof and every stopping point needs a reason. Autonomy should not make the decisions disappear from view.
Who it’s for
For teams that want useful agents without making human judgment disappear.
Do Less. See It Through. separates assistants, automations, and agents before drawing the interface.
An action leaves a mark. The book shows how to make the plan, permission, proof, stopping point, and way back visible before a system touches the world.
The rest is in the book
You’ve read enough to know
whether you want to continue.
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