An agent role boundary states what an agent owns and what falls outside its job. It can constrain inputs, outputs, tools, data access, spending, promises and situations that require a handoff.
Clear boundaries make ongoing work easier to evaluate and correct. Without them, an agent may gradually take on unrelated actions or make decisions that should remain with a person.
ELI5
An agent role boundary explains which part of a job belongs to an AI agent and which parts belong to other people or systems. It prevents a helpful task assignment from becoming unlimited responsibility or authority.
For example, an agent-run organization might let one agent gather offers and another check policy, while a named human remains responsible for signing a regulated contract. The boundaries make the accountability chain visible.
What belongs in an agent role definition?
It should identify the purpose, allowed inputs, tools, permissions, outputs, stop conditions and human review points.
Why are role boundaries important for persistent agents?
Repeated operation gives small ambiguities more chances to accumulate into unexpected work or authority.
