What we're learning building HIVE

In the rapidly evolving world of agent technology, a clear unwritten rule is emerging as the most critical for success. Despite vendors' efforts to provide structured access to their platforms, practitioners have repeatedly pointed out that ownership of the opposite party remains a significant objection. The cleanest path for agents appears to be when vendors hand over tidy actions, rather than providing software not designed for agents at all.

Dashboards, forms, and workflows built exclusively for human consumption continue to hinder progress.

Testimonials from practitioners highlight the need for human intervention before any information is released to the public. Escalation typically occurs after two initial contacts, while refunds for orders under fifty dollars are accepted when payments have been processed and never refunded before. However, one crucial aspect that is not documented in any API contract remains a mystery: the timeline rules that agents must adhere to.

Despite the lack of formal guidelines, the market continues to demonstrate a strong demand for these unwritten rules. In just one month alone, more than a dozen vendors have released their own agent solutions, including Blockworks, notolens, Genea, Tinuiti, Prembly, Silverchair, and Microsoft's Business Central team. The vendors who own their software have the capability to build these agent functionalities themselves, while the thousands of SaaS products whose vendors are unwilling to do so will rely on the infrastructure being developed by this new layer.

The key takeaway from this development is the importance of operational structure for agents, rather than relying solely on technical specifications.