Give an always-on agent a clear job brief

Agents that run in the background go wrong when the brief is vague. Fill in a simple job brief: the goal, when to run, what it may do alone and when it must stop and ask.

How your agent does it

1. Write the job in one sentence and what 'done' looks like
2. Set when it runs: a schedule or a trigger email
3. List what it may do alone, what it must ask about, and what it must never do
4. It reads the brief back to you before it starts

Example prompt

Here's a job I want you to do regularly: [the job]. Run it [when]. You may [read, sort, draft] without asking. Ask me first before sending, paying, booking or deleting anything. Never share personal data or agree prices. Report back in three lines [where]. Stop and tell me if anything looks unusual. Read this brief back to me in your own words, list anything unclear, then wait for my OK.

Good to know

• Difficulty: medium
• Typical benefit: Fewer mistakes from background agents
• Works best on: ChatGPT, Gemini, Grok Bot, Claude, OpenClaw, Hermes
• Agent job: Executive Assistant, with Planner and Guardian