The gradual change in an AI agent's behavior over time that moves it away from what the business intended.
Drift is not a crash. The agent keeps running while its answers slowly stop matching current policy, pricing, or intent. It builds from model updates, prompt changes, new tools, and shifting business rules, in increments too small for technical monitoring to flag. The system looks healthy while the outcome drifts wrong.
Related: AI Agent Hallucination, AI Agent Monitoring, Concept, Data, and Model Drift, Business Alignment & Outcome Optimizer
See also: What Is AI Agent Drift?