Trust-sensitive agents need visible friction
The article distinguishes between low-risk background tasks (classifying leads, summarizing pages) where invisible automation is beneficial, and trust-sensitive actions (applying for jobs, publishing content, issuing refunds, booking travel) where visible friction is essential. It notes that agents often use browsers because APIs are incomplete, internal tools are inconsistent, and OAuth scopes are too coarse. The real state of workflows is scattered across tabs and dashboards. The author argues that the product problem is not removing friction but deciding where it belongs. For trust-sensitive actions, friction serves as a checkpoint for user approval, preventing unauthorized submissions. The article emphasizes that a logged-in browser session is both useful and risky, and that friction should be designed to match the sensitivity of the action.
Developers must design friction into agent workflows for trust-sensitive actions.