AWS’ re:Invent conference here in Las Vegas this week is packed with announcements and speakers from AWS CEO Matt Garman and Amazon (AMZN) President and CEO Andy Jassy to partners like Apple (AAPL). There is no shortage of them.
Last month, I wrote about how artificial intelligence (AI) is massively redefining our workplaces. And last week, Salesforce Chairman and CEO Marc Benioff wrote an essay for TIME about how agent AI could provide an unlimited digital workforce that will transform industries, society, and GDP. I wrote it.
Agentic AI is becoming a powerful AI that can connect the various threads of AI and transform “workplace transformation” from a consulting story to an operational reality for your company. Let’s unpack Agentic AI’s market traction, how it can help deliver on its promise, and the new features executives can turn to for help.
AI agent (suggestion) vs. agent AI (acting)
The phrase “Agent AI” has garnered a lot of attention from technologists, analysts, and businesses, but some are wondering what the excitement is all about. Distinguishing between human agents and AI agents and agentic AI can understandably be confusing. The latter term has its roots in psychology. “Agent” refers to the concept of agency, or a sense of control and the ability to handle a task or situation.
A recent NY Times article attributes the origin of the term “agent AI” to AI researcher Andrew Ng. Describe an AI system that exhibits autonomy. This means AI that can autonomously pursue goals, make decisions, and dynamically adapt to changing circumstances without human intervention. These systems operate with a higher level of independence than traditional AI and often perform functions such as goal setting, prioritization, and collaboration.
Agenttic AI differs from simple “AI agents” because it focuses on independence, autonomous actions, and broader capabilities in handling complex tasks and environments. It can be said that things can be done without humans. AI agents, on the other hand, have been around for decades. The rise of machine learning and deep learning in the 2010s ushered in cognitive intelligence. Generative AI in the 2020s (such as GPT models) has added advanced natural language understanding and reasoning, creating a consistent line from traditional AI agents to agent AI.
Wondering if this should be worth your attention? Gartner predicts that 33% of enterprises will have deployed agent AI by 2028, up from less than 1% in 2024. This is “yes”.
Houston, productivity issues still remain
You may be wondering what this next generation of AI technology actually means from an application perspective. What problems can AI solve? And how can we enhance the role of AI in safely transforming the workplace with all the guardrails everyone is talking about?
At the heart of this progress is improved information access, actionable insights, and task automation. Despite advances in technology, employees still spend significant time and effort searching for information in siled systems, navigating multiple applications, and managing daily tasks.
Anyone who has ever worked in a company can relate. I think so too. Common frustrations include finding internal documents buried in Slack, SharePoint, and Outlook, and tracking customer information spread across multiple systems. Employees often have to juggle a myriad of applications and spend hours each week on tasks that can be automated. According to Forrester, knowledge workers spend 30% of their time searching for information, and 80% believe reducing silos is a top priority.
At first glance, these challenges are similar to those that digital transformation, workflow, and automation technologies have long sought to solve. Certainly, AI should be able to help with that and is advancing by leaps and bounds. But solving these kinds of problems goes beyond the typical GenAI chat and content creation use cases that we’re all familiar with by now. Large-Scale Language Model (LLM) prompt-based applications and copilot tools cannot handle complexity, creating hallucinations or remaining siled within individual applications.
As the future of work becomes increasingly driven by AI, companies can help their teams work more efficiently, streamline processes, and significantly reduce the time they spend on day-to-day tasks with out-of-the-box capabilities. They need secure, scalable AI tools that enable them to do just that.
Businesses need an AI concierge braintrust
Another technology is Kore.ai’s AI for Work, which was just announced today. This is a great example of how cutting-edge technology can reshape our workplaces. Gartner Magic Quadrant companies backed by NVIDIA are accelerating AI adoption and delivering results in a single, secure platform that combines intelligent enterprise search, workflow automation, and multi-agent orchestration.
With the company’s roots in enterprise technology, Kore has been developing its GenAI integration over the past two years. With AI for Work, they are apparently unleashing the triple threat of conversational, generative, and agentic AI.
I spoke with CEO and Founder Raj Koneru. He further explained: “This is more than just a tool; it’s a fundamental transformation in how businesses leverage AI to make work more efficient, intelligent and valuable at every level of the organization.” Early beta results for customers shows 30-50% faster information retrieval, automated workflows, and overall increased productivity. ”
The no-code AI platform includes pre-built AI agents and templates for common business workflows and over 100 integrations to enterprise systems. Its universal orchestrator manages interactions between different AI agents and ensures seamless, secure, and context-aware task execution.
Baby steps and real world examples
AI for Work enables process decision-making, a boon for those struggling with limited data and document analysis resources. Kore’s AI agents are expected to expand enterprise capabilities, help teams be more productive, and lead to smarter decisions.
For example, through intelligent information processing, access to and integration of information from multiple sources can be transformed. Instead of switching between multiple systems, sales reps can simply request “View support history for ABC Corp” to view CRM information, help desk data, emails, meeting summaries, and financial account status all in one place. Can be viewed 360 degrees anywhere.
AI for Work can also streamline complex business processes that require multiple handoffs and system interactions through intelligent workflow automation. It is designed to orchestrate complex workflows across specialized AI agents that can search, infer, summarize, generate content, and integrate directly with APIs to seamlessly execute multi-step processes. will be realized. Although it may sound complicated, common use cases are quite simple, such as employee/customer onboarding and IT service management.
When I asked Koneru for a real-life example, he cited Yuliya Teteryuk, director of customer care at Autodoc, a German online auto parts retailer, saying: In customer and employee support operations, 74% of calls are resolved on the first call, and employees are satisfied with the simplicity, possibilities, and benefits that AI for Work brings. ”I like the sound of happy people.
The fast-growing field of utopian options
In addition to LLM and SLM, which we covered last week, providers are entering the agent AI fray in earnest. For example, Salesforce announced Agentforce in September and continues to expand it. According to a company release, it’s a “groundbreaking suite of autonomous AI agents that empowers employees to handle service, sales, marketing, and commerce tasks, driving unprecedented efficiency and customer satisfaction.” That’s what it means. That’s a mouthful.
Just last month, a Microsoft blog shared news about autonomous agents “scaling teams like never before” with agent technology advancing Microsoft 365 Copilot, allowing you to create autonomous agents in Copilot Studio.
In an essay for TIME, Salesforce’s Benioff emphasizes the importance of a collaborative approach as the world moves toward an agent utopia. “Effectively harnessing the power of agent AI will require a multi-stakeholder approach, with businesses, governments, nonprofits, and academia working together to create guardrails and guidelines.” The benefits to individuals and businesses will far outweigh the initial disruption. ” Agreed.
The coming era of hypercompetition
For some executives, the opportunities ahead are becoming clearer, and they are greater than any single technology has ever enabled. Yes, agent AI brings exciting new features that promise to streamline and automate tasks, but its real power lies in its integration with GenAI for content creation and actionable insights. Together, these advanced AI platforms democratize innovation, giving employees access to intelligent tools without extensive technical expertise. These solutions accelerate strategic technology transformation by delivering immediate value across departments.
We are entering a new era of workplace optimization that directly addresses companies’ critical challenges. The ultimate goal is to create a responsive and efficient organizational ecosystem where technology helps enhance human potential and improve competitiveness. Executives have never been more challenged to stay ahead of their competitors by enabling technology. Buckle up, we are entering the CaaS era, the era of competitiveness as a service.