      Tomasz Tunguz (Theory Ventures) · 2025-07-14
      · 325d
    

Agent Managers: The Next Productivity Frontier in AI-Driven Teams

As AI agents become mainstream in 2025, 2026 will see the emergence of agent managers—people who oversee teams of AI agents. The article explores the challenges of managing non-deterministic AI systems, draws parallels to robot management productivity, and identifies the agent inbox as an essential tool for scaling agent oversight.

6 metrics· Cited 0× in the knowledge base ·Open source ↗

Metrics in this report

AI Agent Management Capacity

10-15agents

p75-p90

very productive AI software engineers

AI Agent Work Rework Rate

50%

median

AI agent task completion requiring restart

Author's Personal Agent Management Capacity

4agents

current capability

Tomasz Tunguz baseline

Jobs Replaced Per Robot

3.3jobs

average

general robotic automation (MIT 2020 analysis)

Recommended Span of Control

7direct reports

standard

management theory guidance

Workers Replaced by Fulfillment Automation

24workers

specific instance

Amazon pickpack and ship robots (2024)