AI agents for business: write a job brief

By Jeremy Kenerson, Founder at BreadHead.

Facts checked October 7, 2026

An autonomous AI agent can take in information and act toward a goal without waiting for a person to approve each step, Microsoft says. Before assigning an agent work in your business, write down its job and where you want a person to check it. Name what it should return and who will decide whether to use that work.

What are AI agents for business?

Microsoft says autonomous AI agents take in data, choose steps and act on a goal without human sign-off for each step. It says to review AI choices often and use human checks where needed.

Write your own brief around a task you can inspect. Ask whoever will set up the agent to confirm how the brief's limits will work before you give it live work.

Build the brief in this order:

1. Name the job in a short phrase. Try “prepare a service summary.” Keep it to a single piece of work.
2. List the inputs you'll supply. Name the approved notes and explain which version to use.
3. Describe the work you want returned. Set its format, such as a draft with a separate list of unanswered questions.
4. Write down what the role must leave alone. Include any records it mustn't change or messages it mustn't send.
5. Name the reviewer. Ask that person what they'll need beside the returned work to check it.

Fill in the blank job brief before discussing tools:

Check which files and accounts the job would need. Use the access and data inventory to record them before anyone connects a tool.

Keep any action you haven't approved yet outside the job. Use the agent permission boundary to work through those limits.

Keep the brief focused on the job itself. Use the pilot acceptance sheet to decide how you'll judge a trial of that job.

What kinds of AI agents can a business team use?

Choose a role by the work you want returned: research notes, a draft or an action you want carried out. Write a separate brief for each job you want to try, and ask the provider to confirm what it can handle.

For a research role, ask for findings tied to named sources. For a drafting role, specify the notes to draw from and the person who will edit the draft. For an action role, name the exact action and ask how you'll check it before it happens.

Don't bundle those jobs together unless you've written down how work passes between them. Ask who decides when research is ready to use and who approves a draft before it becomes an action.

Replace the service list with the exact file you intend to use. Add the reviewer's name and where to leave the draft. Ask the person setting up the role to explain how they'll keep sending and publishing outside this job.

Microsoft says to put clear AI choices and checks first. Ask the reviewer to read the brief with you. Use this check:

• Does the job name match the work I'm asking for?
• Have I named the input instead of saying “use our files”?
• Does the brief say what to do with a gap in the notes?
• Have I separated preparing work from acting on it?
• Has the reviewer agreed to check this type of work?
• Has the provider confirmed how the limits will be put in place?

If a limit is still unclear, leave that part of the job unassigned. Add the open question to the brief and name who must answer it. Read the finished brief with the reviewer before you start a trial.

Keep your job brief beside you as you compare options. See the best AI workflow automation tools.

With BreadHead, you review and approve the work before it goes public or into use.

What changed

• October 7, 2026: First version. Facts checked.