The Three Reliability Modes I See in Production AI Agents

After running autonomous AI agents in production for months, I've noticed a pattern: agents fall into three reliability categories. The Three Modes 1. Scripted Agents (High Reliability, Low Autonomy) These agents follow strict decision trees. They're predictable but limited. Great for repetitive tasks where variation is low. 2. Prompted Agents (Medium Reliability, Medium Autonomy) These use LLM prompts to make decisions. More flexible but unpredictable under edge cases. The mode where most teams operate. 3. Self-Evolving Agents (Low Reliability, High Autonomy) These modify their own prompts and behavior based on feedback. Most powerful but risky - they can drift from intended behavior. Which Mode Are You In? Most production systems mix all three. The key is knowing which mode each agent operates in and monitoring accordingly. What's your experience? Which reliability mode do your agents live in?