Basics
Delegate, Then Verify
The core habit of working with an AI agent: hand off the work, but own the outcome.
An agent is a collaborator, not a vending machine
When you use a search engine, you operate a tool: you type, it returns links, and you do the rest. An AI agent is different. You delegate a task to it — "add a dark-mode toggle to this page" — and it plans, takes steps, and comes back with a result.
The useful mental model is a fast, knowledgeable, eager junior collaborator. It can do a surprising amount on its own, but it sometimes misunderstands, makes confident mistakes, or does more than you asked. So you direct it and check its work — just like you would with a new teammate.
You delegate the work, but you own the outcome
Delegating does not mean walking away. The agent can produce something that looks finished and still be wrong — a feature that doesn't handle the real case, or a summary of a document that invented a detail.
The habit that separates effective agent users from frustrated ones is simple: specify clearly, then verify the result yourself. Don't accept "Done!" as proof. The agent did the work; you are accountable for whether it's actually right.
From the field
Simon Willison
Creator of Datasette; long-time open-source developer who writes extensively about coding with LLMs
A computer can never be held accountable. That's your job as the human in the loop.
- 1Prompt the coding agent to make the change you want.
- 2Never assume the generated code works just because it looks plausible.
- 3Run it and watch the code do the right thing with your own eyes.
- 4Only then deliver it — and include proof that it works.
Try it — instruct the agent
You're working on a small to-do web app. You want the agent to add a button that deletes a to-do item. Write the instruction you'd give it.
Agent behavior: Eager and literal — it does what you say, and fills gaps with assumptions when you're vague.
Check yourself
What is the core shift in working with an AI agent compared with a search engine?
The agent confidently says "Done!" What should you do?
Why do acceptance criteria and a scope boundary make delegation work better?
Your turn
Delegate one small, real task to a coding agent — but specify it well and verify the result instead of trusting it.