# Autonomy Level

> A way to describe how much freedom an agent has to decide, act, spend money, or change systems.

- Category: Agents & Autonomy
- Stage: Emerging
- Also called: Autonomy tier, Agency level
- Canonical: https://www.joelcsaji.com/ai-dictionary/autonomy-level

## Plain English

Not every agent deserves the same keys.

## Example

Level 1 drafts recommendations, level 2 acts after approval, and level 3 acts within a budgeted sandbox.

## Why it matters

Clear autonomy levels help teams align product promises, permissions, risk, and user trust.

## Related

- [Guardrails](https://www.joelcsaji.com/ai-dictionary/guardrails)
- [Approval Gate](https://www.joelcsaji.com/ai-dictionary/approval-gate)
- [Action-Time Authorization](https://www.joelcsaji.com/ai-dictionary/action-time-authorization)

## Sources

- [OWASP Agentic AI Top 10](https://genai.owasp.org/2025/12/09/owasp-top-10-for-agentic-applications-the-benchmark-for-agentic-security-in-the-age-of-autonomous-ai/)
- [Anthropic: Building Effective Agents](https://www.anthropic.com/engineering/building-effective-agents)