Framework

The three-layer model

Your operating model was designed for a workforce that was entirely human. The agentic TOM replaces that assumption with three layers, each governed differently, each accountable for different decisions.

Governance layer

Accountability, risk ownership, and regulatory responsibility. Humans set the boundaries within which all three layers operate.

Humans

Decision proxies

Own irreversible decisions, regulatory accountability, and relationship trust. Operate at the edges: exceptions, governance, judgment calls. Never touch routine.

Irreversible decisionsRegulatory accountabilityRelationship trustException handling
↑ Escalation by design ↓

Agents

Knowledge workers at scale

Goal-driven, context-aware, probabilistic. Make decisions within a policy envelope defined by humans. Escalate when the cost of being wrong exceeds their authorisation level.

Goal pursuitContext awarenessPolicy envelopesProbabilistic decisionsEscalation triggers
↑ Delegation ↓

Bots

Industrial backbone

Rule-based, deterministic, auditable. Execute predefined processes on predefined inputs. Reconciliations, extractions, routing. No judgment. By design.

Rule-basedDeterministicAuditableNo judgment

By layer

Read deeper

Bots

Deterministic backbone

Where an agent's decision becomes a posted transaction in the system of record, with full audit trail.

Agents

Knowledge workers at scale

Goal-driven and probabilistic, escalating when the cost of being wrong exceeds the authorisation level.

Humans

Concentrated at the edges

Exceptions, governance, relationships, irreversible decisions. Never routine.

Worked example

What changes when you apply it

Take mortgage origination, the process every Swiss bank runs the same way. The three-layer model redesigns it without changing what FINMA requires.

Bot layer

Ingestion. Eligibility checks. Data enrichment. Sanctions screening.

Time: seconds. Cost: near zero.

Agent layer

Risk assessment. Pricing. Offer generation. Escalation decisions within the policy envelope.

Time: minutes. Cost: low.

Human layer

Exception review. Relationship calls. Policy governance. Quarterly performance review of agents.

Time: where it matters. Cost: where it matters.

Same process. Same FINMA requirements, designed in. Different cost structure. Different speed. Different accountability boundaries.

Read the full case sketch →

Next step

Where does your bank stand today?

Fifteen questions across five dimensions. Five minutes. Exportable as PDF for your leadership team.

Take the assessment