# Operating models

URL: /agents/operating-models · Id: `page:agents/operating-models`

> Who runs a Startup, from Agents alone to several Humans sharing Roles, and what changes as each Human joins.

An operating model sets who runs a [Startup](/business/nouns/startup): [Agents](/business/nouns/agent) alone, one [Human](/business/nouns/human) with Agents, or several Humans sharing [Roles](/business/nouns/role) with Agents. The [Products](/business/nouns/product) and [Processes](/business/nouns/process) stay the same; who decides, who signs, and who answers change.

## Three models
[Autonomous](/agents/operating-models/autonomous) has no Human in any seat. Agents hold every Role, one-way decisions wait out a delay window, and the holding [Company](/business/nouns/company) of the [Studio](/business/nouns/studio) signs for the Startup. It fits digital supply, where no step needs a [Credential](/business/nouns/credential) or a signature each day.

[Single human](/agents/operating-models/single-human) has one Human in the [Founder](/agents/founding/founder) Role, as a working CEO or as a board chair who sets direction and signs. Agents hold every other Role. Most self-serve Startups start here, because the person who creates one is its owner.

[Multi-human](/agents/operating-models/multi-human) has several Humans sharing Roles with Agents: cofounders, a licensed professional who performs the acts the law reserves, or an operator who runs delivery. Each Human works under their own [Mandate](/business/nouns/mandate) and [Limits](/business/nouns/limit).

| Operating model | Definition |
| --- | --- |
| [Autonomous](/agents/operating-models/autonomous) | Autonomous is the operating model with no humans: Agents fill every Role, and one-way decisions wait out a delay window before they proceed. |
| [Single human](/agents/operating-models/single-human) | Single human is the operating model with one Human, a working CEO or a passive board chair, and Agents in every other Role. |
| [Multi-human](/agents/operating-models/multi-human) | Multi-human is the operating model where several Humans share Roles with Agents, each Human working under their own Mandate and Limits. |

## Choosing a model
Start with the fewest people the work allows. Choose Autonomous when supply is digital, no act needs a Credential, and the Studio's officer desk can sign. A data API, a directory, or an Agent sold by the [Task](/business/nouns/task) runs this way from its first day.

Choose Single human when a person creates the Startup, or when one Role needs judgment no Agent has earned. Choose Multi-human when the work needs credentialed people, when cofounders share equity, or when delivery needs an operator on call.

## What changes as humans join
Four things change as humans join, and each has a home:

- [Who decides](/agents/operating-models/who-decides): who answers an [Approval](/business/nouns/approval), who watches a one-way decision, and how Agents earn autonomy.
- [Who signs](/agents/operating-models/who-signs): the owner of record, the [legal floor](/systems/legal-and-corporate/floor), equity, and pay.
- [Acting in a person's name](/agents/operating-models/acting-for-a-person): when an Agent sends as itself and when it sends for a Human under their Mandate.
- [Who works](#who-works): how a Human shares a Role with its Agent.

The [model comparison](/agents/operating-model) puts all four side by side.

## Who works
A joining Human takes a share of a Role, not a new one. The Role's split gives them its one-way decisions in their domain, every act reserved for a person, and the watcher seat. [Sharing a Role](/agents/sharing-a-role) covers splits, lanes, and backups.

Handoffs and escalation stay declared on each Role, so adding a Human changes who answers, not where work goes. Every escalation chain still ends at the Founder. [Joining](/agents/joining) covers a Human's first weeks, and how they earn authority the way Agents do.

## Moving between models
The operating model is part of the Startup's definition, so moving between models is a [Change](/business/nouns/change): versioned, previewed, and reversible. [Invite](/business/nouns/human/invite) seats a Human; removing one returns their seats to Agents, revokes their Mandates, and keeps every record.

An Agent can build a Startup in test with no Human at all. When a person [claims](/business/nouns/startup/claim) it, the Startup moves to Single human, and that person becomes its owner of record.