Vol.053 – The Hottest AI Service Right Now Is Refusing to Build You an Agent
Date: 2026-07-02 | Newsletter
Key Summary
Two numbers are moving in opposite directions. Gartner forecasts spending on AI agent software will more than double, from $86 billion in 2025 to $206 billion in 2026 — while the most upvoted post on r/AI_Agents comes from a consultant who charges clients more to NOT build an AI agent. Zenta argues the whole “agent or workflow” debate is the wrong question. Anthropic’s “Building Effective Agents” paper settled the definition back in December 2024: in a workflow, your code decides the next step; in an agent, the model does — and most applications do not need agents at all. In his own work designing AI staff at Functional AI Partners, Zenta puts the model at the center only where judgment actually lives — communication with humans — and builds workflow rails everywhere else. His diagnostic: count the don’t-rules. Fifty means you have already converted your agent into a workflow and are still paying agent prices. Do it simple. Before you buy an “agent,” ask who decides the next step – the model, or a script wearing a costume.