Deploying an AI agent without governance is like opening a new network port without a firewall rule. Before production, technology leaders should answer five foundational questions.
Who owns the agent?
Every agent needs a business owner, a technical owner, and an escalation path. Without clear ownership, incidents become debates instead of responses.
What data can it access?
Define data boundaries explicitly. Agents should operate on least-privilege principles with auditable retrieval paths.
How is identity enforced?
User context, service accounts, and API credentials must be governed consistently across agent actions.
What gets logged?
Prompts, tool calls, outputs, and overrides should be retained for security and compliance review.
How do you measure success?
Define operational KPIs — resolution time, accuracy, escalation rate, and user satisfaction — before launch.