The most durable distinction in agentic systems has nothing to do with sophistication. It has to do with who decides what happens next. If code dictates every step, you have a workflow, even when it calls a model at each one. If the model picks the next action, you've crossed into something structurally different.

Worth saying upfront: this spectrum is not a maturity ranking. A deterministic workflow at level three can deliver more value than an autonomous agent at level five when the task demands reliability, explainability, and a limited blast radius. The best architecture is the simplest one that meets the requirements you actually have today.

Six levels, from fully code-controlled to fully model-controlled.

The most durable distinction in agentic systems has nothing to do with sophistication. It has to do with who decides what happens next. If code dictates every step, you have a workflow, even when it calls a model at each one. If the model picks the next action, you've crossed into something structurally different.

Worth saying upfront: this spectrum is not a maturity ranking. A deterministic workflow at level three can deliver more value than an autonomous agent at level five when the task demands reliability, explainability, and a limited blast radius. The best architecture is the simplest one that meets the requirements you actually have today.

Six levels, from fully code-controlled to fully model-controlled.

Three protocols keep surfacing in the same conversations about how AI agents interact with the world. They share governance under the Linux Foundation, overlapping vocabulary around capability discovery, and enough surface similarity to blur together fast.

They shouldn't. Each operates at a different layer, runs in a different environment, and puts control in different hands. This grid draws the lines: what each protocol connects, where it executes, and who decides what gets exposed.

Three protocols keep surfacing in the same conversations about how AI agents interact with the world. They share governance under the Linux Foundation, overlapping vocabulary around capability discovery, and enough surface similarity to blur together fast.

They shouldn't. Each operates at a different layer, runs in a different environment, and puts control in different hands. This grid draws the lines: what each protocol connects, where it executes, and who decides what gets exposed.