DDAO (Delegated Decision Agent Officer)
Delegated Decision Agent Officer · DDAO role
The DDAO, or Delegated Decision Agent Officer, is the function created by the Agentic Commerce Framework that answers for the decisions an organization delegates to AI agents. It sets mandates and autonomy levels, supervises decisions, holds the power to stop, and can refuse a deployment. Like CEO or DPO, the title is not translated.
What the DDAO does
- Defines each agent's mandate and sets autonomy levels according to criticality.
- Supervises decisions over time and also answers for the relevance of the rules, not only for whether they are followed.
- Holds the power to stop everything and validates audits and correction plans.
- Reports to senior management on who decided, on what basis and when.
A function before it is a job title
The DDAO designates a function first, and it need not be one more line on the organization chart. A large organization may justify a full role. Elsewhere it falls to someone already in place, such as a Chief AI Officer, a head of compliance or a head of risk, or to an AI governance committee. A small business can have one person carry it part-time. ACF asks that the function be embodied, whatever it is called.
Independence gives the role its value. A person who owns the product being checked will have too much to lose on the day they have to say no. The profile therefore combines a double culture, business and technical or business and legal, with the capacity to say no to senior management and to defend it.
What the DDAO is not
The DDAO does not carry the organization's legal liability alone, which stays shared among executives, corporate officers and regulated functions. It carries something narrower and more useful: accountability for the delegated decision. An organization that transfers the responsibilities of everyone else to the DDAO has simply appointed a culprit in advance.
| Role | Focus | Relationship with the DDAO |
|---|---|---|
| DPO | Protection of personal data | Remains in place, and the two functions meet on automated decisions |
| CISO | Security of information systems | Remains in place, and the two functions meet on agent access |
| CDAIO | Creating value with AI, from strategy to scaling | The DDAO answers for the decisions an agent takes alone; it can report to a CDAIO on condition that it keeps its independence of judgment |
Frequently asked questions
Does the law require a DDAO?
No. The role comes from ACF and no regulation requires it by that name. The AI Act does, however, require deployers of high-risk systems to assign oversight to competent people with authority, and the DDAO is one way of organizing that duty.
What is the difference between a DDAO and an agent owner?
The agent owner wants the agent and deploys it, while the DDAO answers for the decisions entrusted to it and can say no. The tension between the two is what makes the deployment governable.
What does DDAO stand for?
Delegated Decision Agent Officer. The word order places the decision at the center: the decision that is delegated, to an agent as the means, with an officer who answers for it.
Where does your organization stand?
ACF Score measures your agentic governance in about 10 minutes, the AI Act checker tells you which obligations apply, and ACF Control applies your rules before an agent acts.
Related terms
Written by Vincent Dorange, creator of the Agentic Commerce Framework®. Last updated .