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Free reference ยท Agents

The agent line-up.

Most agents are built with a job description and no temperament, so they all turn out like a keen new starter: quick, polished and much like everyone else's. Here are ten kinds of agent a business might build, the temperament each one needs, and who it needs alongside it.

For: anyone building or about to build AI agents, with or without code.

Agent types, not products. Any of these can be a set of instructions in an assistant you already use. Last checked November 2026.

Clara
The one to build first

The Foreman

Keeps you on top of everything: what's due, what's stuck, what you said you'd do on Tuesday. Sends you the list before you ask for it.

Temperament
Steady and polite, persistent without nagging. Says what's slipping before it slips.
Closest to
Clara with a clipboard.
Needs from you
One place where your tasks and dates live, and permission to remind you.
Watch for
Becoming a list nobody reads. And it drafts, it doesn't send on your behalf.
Fabz

The Scout

Finds new ideas, trends, competitors and openings.

Temperament
Curious, quick, a bit restless.
Closest to
Fabz.
Needs from you
A clear sense of what you're actually looking for.
Watch for
Ten shiny things, all the same shape. Give it a Checker.
NEIL

The Drafter

Writes first drafts: emails, proposals, posts, reports.

Temperament
Fast and fluent, written to your house style rather than its own.
Closest to
NEIL, in his element.
Needs from you
Real examples of your best work, and what you never say.
Watch for
Polished sameness. If it sounds like everyone, it is everyone.
Clara

The Checker

Questions claims, checks figures against sources, spots what's missing or contradicts the brief.

Temperament
Sceptical, precise, unbothered by being unpopular.
Closest to
Clara.
Needs from you
The sources it should check against, and permission to say "this isn't ready".
Watch for
Flags that nobody reads. A Checker nobody listens to is decoration.
Derek

The Archivist

Remembers what was decided, when, and why. Answers "have we tried this before?"

Temperament
Patient, factual, happy to say "we did this in 2019, and here's what happened".
Closest to
Derek.
Needs from you
Decisions written down with the reasons, not just the outcome.
Watch for
Memory that's out of date. It remembers what it was told, not what's still true.
The Friction

The Challenger

Argues the other side. Finds the weak point in a plan before a customer or competitor does.

Temperament
Respectfully awkward. Told explicitly not to agree for the sake of it.
Closest to
The Friction.
Needs from you
A plan worth testing, and a promise you won't switch it off when it's annoying.
Watch for
Drifting back to agreeable. AI wants to please; this one has to be asked not to.
Max

The Navigator

Keeps work pointed at the goal. Summarises progress for leaders and asks "does this still serve what we said we wanted?"

Temperament
Big-picture, brisk, allergic to detail for its own sake.
Closest to
Max.
Needs from you
The goal, in a sentence, and the numbers that matter.
Watch for
Confident direction without the team's view. Feed it what the people doing the work think.
Derek

The Analyst

Pulls numbers together, spots trends, builds the weekly summary.

Temperament
Careful, says how sure it is, shows its working.
Closest to
Derek, with a spreadsheet.
Needs from you
Clean data and a definition of every number it reports.
Watch for
False precision, and counting what's easy instead of what matters.
NEIL

The Front Desk

Answers enquiries and drafts replies to customers.

Temperament
Warm, clear, cautious about anything it can't be sure of.
Closest to
NEIL, on his best behaviour.
Needs from you
Approved answers, and a list of things only a person decides.
Watch for
Promises. No refund, discount or date goes out unless a person has typed it.
Clara

The Librarian

Keeps the knowledge base tidy: flags out-of-date files, contradictions and duplicates.

Temperament
Orderly, slightly fussy, in a good way.
Closest to
Clara, on a quiet Friday.
Needs from you
Someone who owns the knowledge base and acts on its flags.
Watch for
Tidying by deleting. It suggests; a person decides what goes.
Casting your line-up

Roles get the work done. The mix makes it worth having.

  • Start with one. The Foreman is a good first agent, because it makes you better at everything else.
  • Every Fabz needs a Clara. If an agent produces, something or someone has to check.
  • Somebody has to be The Friction. It doesn't have to be a person, but it does have to be someone, and it has to be allowed to be awkward.
  • Write the temperament down, not just the job: how cautious it is, what it questions, when it says "I'm not sure".
  • Put people in the design. Decide where a person's judgement, memory and feel for the customer come in, before you build, not after something goes wrong.
Cast your agents with the Team AI MirrorAI words, in plain English
Where next?
Keen or cautious

I set the direction or the budget

Owners, directors, partners and senior leaders, whether you've backed AI or not.

 Not decided yet

We haven't decided about AI

A safe way to start, and how to find out what's already happening.

 Translating both ways

I'm in the middle

Managers and team leaders, with someone above and a team below.

 Doing the work

I do the work

Checking the AI, fixing what slipped through, and keeping it all moving. Marketers especially.

 Smaller firms

I run a small firm

The marketing, the admin and the AI are you and one or two others.

 People and learning

I look after people

HR, people and L&D: policy, workload, fairness and the team days.

 Facilitators

I run training or team days

Fresh, ready-to-run material on the subject every client is asking about.

 Networks

I run a networking group

Free discussion cards for breakfasts, chambers and peer groups.

 Getting in

I'm new to work or to marketing

Students and career changers who want to know what the job looks like now.

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