Supporting service · Engineering
Agent Assurance
Scale agents with confidence. Evaluation, tracing, and control for agents in production, so every run is measured and every consequential action has an owner.
Is this for you?
- Businesses running agents in production, whoever built them
- Teams adding agents faster than they can review them
- Owners who need to show who approved what
The situation
More agents, the same number of reviewers.
Agents are now part of daily work: drafting, routing, and updating records. Some came from vendors, some from internal teams, and some from a trial that became daily use. Each one reaches customers, records, or money in its own way.
Each one runs with its own permissions and its own idea of success. Reviewers cannot read every output, and leaders ask a fair question: who approved that?
You want every agent measured the same way, with its limits written down and a named person on each critical action.
Our approach
Measure every run. Gate every change.
We start from how each agent runs today: its tasks, tools, permissions, and checks. That works for agents built by anyone, including your own team and your vendors. We add the checks around each agent rather than rebuilding it.
With each workflow owner, we agree evaluation cases and thresholds. Regression gates run them on every change, and run tracing records cost, quality, outcome, and escalation for every run.
Permissions are narrowed to what each agent needs, and critical actions wait for a named approver. Reporting follows the schedule you agree, as a one-time project or a managed service.
Use cases by industry
Where this service fits.
Typical applications across industries. They show where the service applies, not past client work or results.
- Law firm
Matter intake, conflict searches, and drafting agents
Agents screen new matter intake, prepare conflict searches, and draft first versions of standard letters from the practice management system. Assurance narrows each agent’s access to the matters it serves, traces every run, and gates each change on cases the practice leads agree. An attorney approves every outgoing document and every conflict decision before the matter opens.
- Medical billing
Coding suggestions and claim preparation
Agents suggest codes from visit notes and prepare claims, with supporting documentation, in the billing system. Evaluation cases drawn from past claims, denials included, run before any change ships, and tracing records each run under agreed controls for sensitive records. A coder or billing lead approves each claim before it is submitted to a payer.
- Marketing agency
Content drafting across client accounts
Agents draft posts, briefs, and performance reports for several client accounts, each with its own brand rules and approvals. Permissions keep each agent inside the accounts it serves, and regression gates run brand and accuracy cases on every prompt or model change. An account lead approves each piece before it is published or sent to the client.
- Construction
Submittal, RFI, and change order agents
Agents log requests for information, check submittals against specifications, and draft change order summaries in the project management system. Tracing shows cost, outcome, and escalation for every run, and the agreed cases cover the documents that most often lead to disputes. The project manager approves every change order and any response sent to an owner or subcontractor.
- Dental group
Scheduling, recall, and eligibility checks
Agents fill schedule openings, send recall reminders, and check insurance eligibility across several offices from one shared queue. Assurance limits each agent to the records its task needs and logs every change it makes in the practice management system. An office manager approves schedule changes that move patients, and a treatment coordinator approves any estimate a patient sees.
- Retailer
Customer service and refund agents
Agents answer order questions, draft replies, and issue refunds within a set limit. Evaluation cases drawn from real conversations run on every change, and tracing records cost, outcome, and escalation for each conversation. Refunds above the owner’s limit wait for a customer service lead’s approval, and the lead reviews flagged replies before they are sent.
- Energy services
Crew dispatch and inspection report agents
Agents schedule crews, summarize inspection photos and notes, and draft reports for customers from the dispatch and asset systems. Assurance narrows each agent’s permissions and gates changes on cases the operations lead agrees, safety findings included. A qualified supervisor approves every safety finding and every customer report before it leaves the company, and the trace shows who approved it.
- Education and training
Enrollment, feedback, and learner messages
Agents answer enrollment questions, draft feedback on assignments, and send learner reminders from the learning management system. Regression gates run agreed cases for accuracy and tone on every change, and tracing shows where agents escalate. An instructor approves all feedback that affects a grade, and the enrollment lead approves any change to a learner’s record.
What you receive
Evaluation and regression gates
Tests and evaluations that every change must pass before release.
Run tracing
Cost, quality, outcome, and escalation recorded for every run.
Permissions and approval boundaries
Explicit limits on each agent, and a person’s approval on critical actions.
Reporting
Accepted-output rate and review effort, reported on a schedule you agree.
How it works
- ReviewMap each agent: its tasks, tools, permissions, and current checks.
- Set the barAgree evaluation cases and thresholds with each workflow owner.
- InstrumentAdd run tracing, regression gates, and permission limits.
- ApproveOwners approve the gates, and the actions that need a person.
- OperateRun the gates on every change, and review the results with you.
How success is measured
The measures your approver signs.
Each measure goes into the acceptance criteria with its test data, threshold, and the person who checks it.
- Accepted-output rate
- The share of each agent’s outputs that a reviewer accepts without change, by task. It is checked from review records against the agreed cases and thresholds.
- Review effort
- The time people spend reviewing and correcting each agent’s work. It is measured from review logs, so effort can move toward the decisions that need judgment.
- Regression gate results
- Whether each change passes the agreed evaluation cases before release. Gate runs are logged, and every held change is traced to its failing cases.
- Approvals on critical actions
- Whether every critical action carried a named approver’s decision before it took effect. Run traces and approval logs are compared to confirm it.
- Incidents and escalations
- The incidents, corrections, and escalations recorded for each agent, and how each was resolved. They are reviewed with the workflow owner on the agreed schedule.
Where care is needed
What we watch, and how it is handled.
- Agents built by others
- Vendor-built and internal agents expose different logs and controls. We work from how each agent runs today and add the checks around it, without rebuilding it.
- Permission scope
- Agents often receive broad access during a trial that later becomes daily use. We narrow each one to what its task requires, and the workflow owner approves the final limits.
- Model and prompt changes
- A model update or a prompt edit can change behavior in ways a reviewer may not notice. Regression gates run the agreed cases on every change, and a person decides on any change that fails.
- Sensitive data in traces
- Traces can contain customer, patient, or financial details. We agree what is recorded and where it is kept, and traces can stay in your environment under your access controls.
- Approvals that carry weight
- Approvals work best where the consequence is real. We agree with each owner which actions are critical, so reviewers spend their attention there and the gates cover routine work.
Who does what
Your team decides. We engineer.
Your team
- List the agents in scope and who owns each one
- Give access to agent configurations, logs, and the systems they touch
- Agree evaluation cases and thresholds with each workflow owner
- Name the approvers for critical actions
- Choose a one-time project or a managed service
Sophrono
- Review each agent’s tasks, tools, permissions, and checks
- Build the evaluation cases, regression gates, and run tracing
- Propose permission limits and approval boundaries for owners to approve
- Report accepted output and review effort on the agreed schedule
- Run the gates on every change, under a managed service
At the end
The decisions you make next.
The service ends with evidence and a choice. Each option is yours, and none is assumed.
Keep it running
Move the gates, tracing, and reporting into AI Stewardship, with your approver on each release.
Improve one measure
Where tracing points to one measure worth improving, an Iteration Sprint targets that agreed metric at a fixed price.
Extend to more agents
Bring further agents under the same evaluation cases, tracing, and approval boundaries. Start with those that act on records, money, or customers.
Revise, retire, or rebuild
Where an agent falls short of its agreed bar, the owner decides whether to revise it or retire it. A rebuild can follow through Custom Agentic Systems.
Before we start
What to have ready.
- A list of the agents you run, including vendor-built and internal ones
- The person who owns each workflow an agent supports
- Examples of acceptable and unacceptable output for each agent
- Any incidents or corrections you already track
- The actions you already treat as critical, such as payments or record changes
Related services
What “accepted” means
Measured against criteria you agree to in advance.
- Every in-scope agent has agreed evaluation cases and thresholds.
- Each run records its cost, quality, outcome, and escalations.
- Critical actions require a named approver.
- Regression gates run before every release.
Full engagement terms are finalized in a Master Services Agreement.
Ask about assurance
Tell us what your agents do.
We reply with how we would review permissions, approval boundaries, and tests for them.
- A senior engineer reads every request
- A reply by email with the next step
- No obligation until scope and price are agreed
Not ready to scope this? Ask an engineer first: a free 15-minute call that names the agentic systems that could fit.
Supports
The core services it supports.
Supporting services are often scoped inside a core engagement, or run on their own.
Before and after
Not ready yet? Ask an engineer. After this: AI Stewardship or Iteration Sprints.
Questions
Can you assure agents someone else built?
Yes. We start from how each agent runs today, and add the checks around it.
Is this a one-time project?
It can be. The gates and reporting can also keep running through AI Stewardship.
Does it slow releases down?
The gates run automatically, so people spend their review time on the decisions that need judgment.
Which agents should we start with?
The ones that write to records, spend money, or reach customers. Their actions carry the most consequence, so approval boundaries matter most there.
What counts as a critical action?
You decide, with each workflow owner. Payments, customer commitments, and changes to records are common examples, and each gets a named approver.
Does run tracing record sensitive data?
What is recorded, and where it is kept, is agreed with you. Traces can stay in your own environment, under the access controls you set.
How is the price set?
A project is priced for an agreed scope. A managed service is priced for the agents and reporting it covers. Full engagement terms are finalized in a Master Services Agreement.
What happens when a change fails a regression gate?
The change is held back from release. The failing cases go to the workflow owner and the responsible engineer, and a person decides whether to fix, revise, or withdraw it.
What do we receive at the end of a project?
The evaluation cases, regression gates, run tracing, and permission limits, installed and documented. Your team can run them, or AI Stewardship can keep them running with your approver on each release.
How are evaluation cases chosen?
With each workflow owner, from real work: typical cases, hard ones, and the errors you most want to catch. The owner agrees the threshold each agent must meet.
What does the reporting show?
Accepted-output rate, review effort, escalations, and gate results for each agent. It follows the schedule you agree, and each report lists the decisions waiting for an owner.
Can an agent’s authority grow over time?
Yes, on evidence. When an agent meets its agreed thresholds over time, the owner may widen its authority, and critical actions keep a named approver.
What access do you need?
Access to agent configurations, logs, and the systems agents touch, as agreed with you. It is limited to the scope of the work, and every use is recorded.
What happens when an agent behaves unexpectedly in production?
Tracing shows the run, its inputs, and its escalations. The owner can pause the agent or narrow its permissions, and the case joins the regression gates for every later change.
Does this work with agents built on any model?
Yes. The gates, tracing, and permission limits sit around the agent, so they apply whichever model it uses. When the model changes, the same cases run before release.
Is the managed service the same as AI Stewardship?
They work together. Agent Assurance sets up the gates, tracing, and approval boundaries, and AI Stewardship can keep them running with your approver on each release. Stewardship tiers are Foundation, Continuity, Operations, and Custom.
Who owns the evaluation cases and traces?
The cases, gates, and configuration are documented and delivered to you, and traces can stay in your own environment. Ownership terms are finalized in the Master Services Agreement.
How do approvals reach the right person?
Each critical action names its approver, agreed with the workflow owner. The action waits in a review queue or the tool your team already uses, and the trace records the decision.
Can assurance cover agents that talk to customers?
Yes. Customer-facing agents usually come first, because their outputs reach people directly. Evaluation cases cover tone and accuracy, and commitments such as refunds or credits wait for a named approver.
Where should we start if we are unsure?
The $750 Diagnostic includes one hour of agent coding, the code delivered with a README, an Agentic AI Blueprint, and a one-hour consultation. It is a practical way to scope a first gate around one agent.