Decoded
Feed

Work Agents: Systems, Capabilities, and Optimization

arXiv:2610.35845LG26 oct 20261 min readHN ×3PDF

A map of AI agents that do real digital work, from answering questions to running workflows.

90

works

Representative works classified by form

Shows agent research spreading from Q&A to whole-workspace tasks.

How it works

  1. No shared picture

    Agents now edit files, run workflows and fix code, but research lacks one way to describe reliable delegated work.

  2. Work-centric framework

    Treat an agent as model plus harness acting in a stateful workspace, judged by verified outcomes along persistence and openness.

  3. Organized field

    Five work forms, five capability families, optimization routes and evaluation methods, plus open problems for sustained delegation.

requirementscontextproposalsactionsevidencecheckedTaskHarnessFoundationmodelStatefulworkspaceVerificationWork outcomerequirementscontextproposalsactionsevidencecheckedTaskHarnessFoundationmodelStatefulworkspaceVerificationWork outcome
From the paper