What is Agent Delegation?
Agent delegation is the process by which one AI agent assigns a task or subtask to another agent, potentially transferring context, authority, and resources needed to complete the work.
WHY IT MATTERS
Delegation enables specialization. A general-purpose orchestrator agent can delegate financial analysis to a specialized DeFi agent, code review to a coding agent, and research to a web-browsing agent. Each sub-agent has focused expertise and tools.
The critical question in delegation is authority transfer. When Agent A delegates a payment task to Agent B, does B inherit A's spending authority? Can B further delegate to Agent C? Without clear rules, delegation chains create accountability gaps.
Effective delegation patterns include explicit authority scoping (the delegating agent specifies what the sub-agent can do), result validation (the delegating agent checks the sub-agent's work), and timeout enforcement (delegation expires if not completed).
HOW POLICYLAYER USES THIS
PolicyLayer ensures delegated agents inherit appropriate spending limits. When Agent A delegates a financial task, the sub-agent receives a scoped budget — never exceeding A's authority, and typically more restricted. This prevents delegation from becoming a privilege escalation vector.