AI Business Maturity Model
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LEVEL 3 OF 5

Agent Builder

Tool-connected, repeatable agent workflows

AI moves from chat to capability: it can do real workflow steps

You're excited but cautious. AI is no longer just a tool you use—it's becoming a worker you manage. The shift from 'I ask AI' to 'AI does the job' feels powerful and slightly risky.

API

Level 3

What This Stage Looks Like

At Agent Builder, the business stops treating AI like a text box and starts treating it like a worker with a job description. You build (or assemble) agents that have the context and access needed to complete defined tasks: pulling information from approved systems, applying rules, generating outputs in the right format, and asking for clarification when required.

This is the first stage where AI becomes a system, not a helper—because it can operate inside the workflow rather than outside it.

The operating model: Humans design the workflow + guardrails. AI executes defined steps with traceability.

Operating Model at Level 3

What AI Is Doing

Accessing approved tools/data (read-only or scoped actions)

Collecting missing info ("I need X before I can finish")

Running repeatable sequences (checklists, enrichment, drafting, classification)

Producing structured outputs that land where they belong (ticket drafts, report drafts, task lists)

What Humans Are Doing

Defining the agent's job ("when X happens, do Y")

Setting permissions and safe boundaries

Providing playbooks and evaluation criteria

Reviewing edge cases and exceptions

Improving the agent based on logs/results

Artifacts You Produce

What you create at this level

Agent "job descriptions" (purpose, inputs, outputs, boundaries)

Tool/data connections (scoped permissions)

Workflow playbooks (step-by-step execution rules)

Exception rules ("when unsure, escalate")

Logging + evaluation (so you can debug and improve)

Key Metrics

How you measure success

1

% of workflow steps completed without manual copy/paste

2

Exception rate (how often the agent needs help)

3

Cycle time reduction for the workflow

4

Accuracy rate / compliance rate (based on spot checks)

5

Cost-to-run per workflow (especially if usage scales)

Graduation Criteria

What it takes to reach Level 4

You have multiple agents or agent workflows that are stable

Work starts to bottleneck at coordination (handoffs, prioritization, routing)

You need a consistent way to decide: "which agent runs, in what order, with what context"

You need centralized governance: approvals, budgets, audit trails, escalation

Common Pitfalls

What keeps organizations stuck

Building "cool demos" instead of "boring reliable workers"

Over-permissioning tools (risk explosion)

No logs → no learning → repeated failures

Agents that can't explain what they did (no trust, no scale)

Previous Level

2. Prompted Operator

Next Level

4. Agent Manager

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