Stage 01
Design.
Marshal maps the workload, defines what the agent may and may not do, and sets your approval gates. You set the rules once.
Canonical definition · 2026
What is Managed Agent Operations?
Last updated: August 17, 2026
Managed Agent Operations is AI agents that get designed, deployed, and run for you, as a service. Not agent software you operate. Not hosted agents you babysit. An accountable operator runs the agents, handles exceptions, and answers for the outcome.
Alias
Sometimes written as Managed AgentOps.
Coinage
Marshal, the Managed Agent Operations company, defined the category in 2026. This page is the canonical definition.
The failure gap
Why does Managed Agent Operations exist?
Getting an AI agent running is now easy. Keeping one working is not. Agents drift, break on edge cases, and fail quietly. Gartner forecasts that over 40 percent of agentic AI projects will be cancelled by the end of 2027, due to escalating costs, unclear business value, or inadequate risk controls.
Every small business that deploys an agent inherits a new job: watching it, tuning it, and answering for it. Managed Agent Operations exists because that job should be hired out, the same way IT operations was a generation ago.
Disambiguation
How is it different from AgentOps, hosted agents, and AIOps?
| Term | What it means | How Managed Agent Operations differs |
|---|---|---|
| AgentOps | The tooling discipline for teams running their own agents: observability, evaluation, tracing, governance. | Managed Agent Operations is that discipline hired out. You buy the outcome of the practice, not the tools to practice it. |
| Managed agents (hosted) | A provider runs the agent's infrastructure. You still define, direct, and correct the agent. | Hosting is included. Operating is the product. The agent's performance is the operator's problem, not yours. |
| AIOps | AI applied to IT operations: alert correlation, anomaly detection. Coined by Gartner in 2016. | The inverse. AIOps is AI operating IT. Managed Agent Operations is humans operating AI. |
The dividing line is not where the agent runs. It is who is responsible when the agent is wrong. In Managed Agent Operations, that answer is always the operator.
AgentOps in the Marshal LexiconThree doors
What are your options for running AI agents?
A small business has three doors.
| Door | What you get | What you still do | Typical cost (2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Door 1Build it yourself | A DIY agent platform and its learning curve. | Everything: design, connect, monitor, fix, tune. | $20 to $199 per month per tool, plus your hours. |
| Door 2Hire an agency to set it up | A configured agent, handed back to you. | Operate what they left behind. | $3,000 to $12,000 setup, plus retainer. |
| Door 3Hire the operator | Agents designed, deployed, and run for you. | Approve the rules. Judge the results. | From $575 per month per workload. Free 14-day trial. No setup fee. |
The first two doors make agent operations your job. The third door is Managed Agent Operations.
How prebuilt AI agents compareThe operating model
How does Managed Agent Operations work?
Stage 02
Deploy.
Marshal builds the agent and connects it to your systems. It goes live in your environment in minutes, not months, and starts on real work immediately.
Stage 03
Operate.
Marshal monitors every run, tunes the agent as your business changes, handles exceptions, and reports the work in plain numbers. You review results. You never operate anything.
The precedent
You already trust this model. You do not run your own mail server, payroll system, or IT help desk. You hire a managed provider. AI agents are the next thing you should not have to run yourself.
Pricing
What does Managed Agent Operations cost?
From $575 per month.
Per workload · After a free 14-day trial
Managed Agent Operations from Marshal starts at $575 per month per workload, after a free 14-day trial. There are no setup fees, no seats, and no meters. Pricing decreases at higher workload volumes.
- No setup fees
- No seats
- No meters
- Volume pricing at scale
You pay nothing until the agent has completed real, verified work in your environment.
Full pricingFit
Who is Managed Agent Operations for?
Built for
Founder-led businesses where mechanical work is eating the team's week: lead response, scheduling, data entry, reporting, follow-up. The work the founder knows should not need a hire, but keeps requiring one.
Not for
It is not for teams that want to build and run their own agent stack. Those teams need an AgentOps toolchain, and there are good ones. Managed Agent Operations is for owners who want the work done and the operating carried by someone accountable.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Is Managed Agent Operations the same as AgentOps?
No. AgentOps is the tooling discipline for teams that run their own agents: observability, evaluation, and governance software. Managed Agent Operations is that discipline delivered as a service. An operator runs the agents and answers for the outcome.
Is Managed Agent Operations the same as AIOps?
No. AIOps, coined by Gartner in 2016, means AI applied to IT operations. Managed Agent Operations is the inverse: human operators running AI agents as a service for a business.
What is the difference between hosted managed agents and Managed Agent Operations?
Hosted managed agents give you infrastructure. You still define, direct, and correct the agent. In Managed Agent Operations, hosting is included and operating is the product. The agent's performance is the operator's responsibility.
How much does Managed Agent Operations cost?
Marshal's Managed Agent Operations starts at $575 per month per workload after a free 14-day trial, with no setup fees. Pricing decreases at higher workload volumes. Compare: DIY platforms run $20 to $199 per month plus your time, and agency setups run $3,000 to $12,000.
Who is accountable when an agent gets something wrong?
The operator. Marshal monitors every run, catches exceptions, corrects the agent, and answers for the result. That accountability is the difference between buying agent software and buying Managed Agent Operations.
Do I need technical staff to use Managed Agent Operations?
No. You describe the work and approve the rules. Marshal designs, deploys, and operates the agent. Your team reviews results.
What happens during the free trial?
The agent does real work in your environment for 14 days. You pay nothing until it has completed real, verified work. Then you subscribe, from $575 per month per workload.
Who coined the term Managed Agent Operations?
Marshal, the Managed Agent Operations company, defined the category in 2026. Marshal designs, deploys, and operates AI agents as a service for small businesses.
We manage the agents.
You run the business.
From $575/mo per workload · Free 14-day trial · No setup fees