Your Next Assistant May Be a Bot

For decades, we've been waiting for technology that can handle tedious, time-consuming tasks for us. Finally, we're on the verge of getting it.

- KRISTEN BAYRAKDARIAN

People have wanted robot assistants ever since... The Jetsons? Now generative AI seems ready to deliver. And these assistants have a name: They're called "AI agents." Unlike a chatbot that can only compile a list of curated information-like naming a bunch of hotels within your budget in Paris-an AI agent would be able to act on your behalf. It would book a room in one of those hotels, plus a plane ticket to get there. It would negotiate a refund if you needed to cancel, allowing you to bypass the hassle of looking up cancellation policies and waiting on hold. Based on your travel schedule, it would also know how crowded or popular a certain area is, and could make recommendations using that knowledge.

"Software is going to change from something you use to get a job done to something that can get the job done for you," says Clay Bavor, cofounder of AI startup Sierra, which provides companies with the tools to create their own AI agents.