Agentic AI and MCP for Product Managers
Lesson 4
Reducing Autonomy Instead of Adding Capability
When an agent isn't working well, the instinct is to add, more tools, better prompts, a bigger model. Frequently the right move is the opposite: take autonomy away and give it a narrower, more reliable job.
The Instinct | Often Better |
|---|---|
Add more tools so it can handle more cases | Cut tools so it chooses better among fewer |
Let it run longer to finish hard tasks | Cap it sooner and hand over with findings |
Move from approval to autonomous | Stay at approval and make approving faster |
Make the goal broader so it handles more | Narrow the goal so it succeeds reliably |
Upgrade the model | Fix the tool descriptions first, usually cheaper and bigger |