Hi there, 

How many agents can you manage (and yes I mean agent as in AI, not agent as in secret)? If you're like me, today the answer is pretty low - one, maybe two? 

VC Tomasz Tunguz argues in his recent piece "The Rise of the Agent Manager" that this will be one of the key skills - perhaps the key skill - of the next several years. And while it may seem like an uncomfortable departure from how you work today, we should all be prepared. Given the massive changes that could happen as AI continues to improve, you could argue that our jobs depend on it. 

So what is an agent manager? It's actually pretty simple: it means that you're managing the work of multiple AI agents. Because AI isn't deterministic, the key skills here are having a clear vision of what you want to get done, understanding the capabilities of your agents, and communicating good instructions to them. 

When it's put that way, it's not that different from being a good people manager. 

There are differences, sure. The capabilities of agents are amazing in certain areas and rudimentary in others. "Hiring" and training and agent are probably quite constrained by your organization, given the sensitivity of data that legal ops handles. The economics of paying an agent are different, too, at least for now. And the systems, are underdeveloped, as well. 

Where you might use Slack, Teams, or email to communicate with a human colleague, agent managers use agent inboxes to manage the work of their agents. Project management tools like ClickUp are starting to adapt to allow for both people and agents to complete tasks outlined on their products. 

This may make you excited or queasy (maybe both). The truth is, even the near future is uncertain and we don't know exactly what capabilities these agents will have, what tools we'll use, or how quickly large organizations will adapt to incorporate agents alongside human employees. 

As with AI in general, a few principles will help you as you dive into this world. First, try things out - if you can't do it at work, do it at home. The worst thing you can do is write off being an agent manager as 'not your problem'. Second, start mapping how you would incorporate agents into your workflows today. Negotiations with outside counsel? Sure. Creating your quarterly reports to your GC? Why not. Finally, stay curious. The fact that you're reading this means that you're ahead of the people who aren't paying attention. Keep learning and asking questions and you'll find your way through the uncertainty to what hopefully becomes an exciting future.  

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July

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