Agent wranglers are required to bring management sensibilities to this growing space. So, can AI agent sprawl be tamed? Some vendors are giving it a try, leading to a new technology category, agent management systems, that are tasked with managing networks of AI agents.

An agent management platform essentially acts as a digital HR department for AI agents, and experts suggest now is the right time for such offerings.

Agents running outside of management frameworks are essentially the AI equivalent of shadow IT.

"It works until it doesn't, and when it stops working, you have no audit trail, no version control, and no governance to fall back on," noted Shelly Palmer, professor at Syracuse University and CEO of The Palmer Group.