The two modes demand different feedback: tools need immediate response, agents need visible process

What it is

Instrumental interaction targets its feedback at each step: click delete, the item vanishes now—one step of lag breaks the sense of causality. Agentive interaction targets its feedback at the execution process: with the steps delegated, users need to see what is being done, how far along it is, and where it is stuck; without that, delegation becomes anxious waiting.

Why it happens

Feedback requirements follow the control point. In tool mode the user corrects the next action from the last result, so feedback must be temporally coupled to the operation or the action-effect chain breaks. In agent mode the monitored object shifts from operations to progress and intermediate states; feedback must persist over long durations so users can verify the run against the delegated intent and intervene early when it drifts.

Studying it

Manipulate feedback on the same task: in tool conditions run operation-delay and result-visibility experiments; in agent conditions compare bare progress bars, step narration, and intermediate-result previews for effects on waiting anxiety, intervention timing, and error recovery. Useful measures include accuracy of users' reports about the current step and the timing of voluntary cancellations or corrections.

Where it stops holding

Immediacy thresholds vary by operation: dragging demands milliseconds, a file export only start and end signals. Visibility has costs too—dense narration becomes noise, and low-risk background jobs need only a completion notice. In hybrid products, feedback must serve whichever control point is active, not the product's overall label.

Applying it

• Keep tool-type feedback synchronized with input; when a step genuinely takes time, signal the start at press and the result at completion.
• For agent tasks, show the current stage, completed versus remaining work, and interruptible points; pause for confirmation at consequential decisions.
• Organize process narration around when a user could intervene, not every internal detail.
• Use "can the user halt drift early" as the acceptance bar for process visibility, and verify timing with screen recordings.

Related

• Same group: B4.16.1 In instrumental interaction the user controls each step; in agentive interaction the user delegates a goal · B4.16.3 Delegation transfers control and responsibility together; its boundary must be stated before the handoff · B4.16.4 The two modes can coexist in one product, but switching should be the user's decision, not the system's · B4.16.5 Agentifying operations users could do directly removes space for skill expression
• Nearby: I1 State, Time, and Response · D1 Output and Feedback Channels
• Search terms: feedback latency · process visibility · progress feedback