How to Evaluate an AI Agent: 8-Question Checklist (2026) | Viktor Blog

Quoted on this wiki

Every place a page here uses this source, in the order the words come in it.

1. The first thing to figure out is what category you are evaluating. “They write the email, they outline the report, they draft the campaign. You still have to go execute it.” Others are full execution agents. They draft, you approve, they execute. The difference is whether the work actually leaves the chat window and shows up in your CRM, your ad platform, your repo.

   In AI SDR agent autonomy levels

2. Key Takeaways “The honest evaluation is what happens when the prompt is messy, the data is bad, or the action fails halfway.” The eight questions below are the ones that separate real products from chat wrappers. If a vendor cannot answer them clearly, walk away.

   In AI SDR agent evaluation

3. Key Takeaways “They show the happy path with one perfectly worded prompt.” The eight questions below are the ones that separate real products from chat wrappers. If a vendor cannot answer them clearly, walk away.

   In AI SDR agent evaluation

4. Most AI agent demos lie by omission. They show the happy path with one perfectly worded prompt. The honest evaluation is what happens when the prompt is messy, the data is bad, or the action fails halfway. “If a vendor cannot answer them clearly, walk away.” Security and audit matter more than features. A tool you cannot trust with your CRM is not actually a tool you can use, no matter how good its outputs look.

   In AI SDR agent evaluation

Quotes are verbatim and belong to their publishers. Where a quote has been translated, the original wording is kept below it.