It's the Age of AI Agents!

Businesses must get ready to work with AI agents if they want to stay competitive. Many have already adopted them, while others are gearing up to do so. These agents will soon be part of almost every organisation, making up a large global digital workforce.

- Dr Gopala Krishna Behara

An AI agent is a software application that engages with its surroundings, collects information, and utilises that data to accomplish predefined objectives.

AI agents are software programs that perform tasks autonomously or semi-autonomously. They run independently to design, execute, and optimise workflows. Guardrails can be built into AI agents to help ensure they execute tasks correctly. They perform tasks with high precision and consistency, and monitor and analyse security threats in real-time, providing proactive measures to prevent breaches and ensure data protection.

According to a Gartner report, AI agents will streamline operations, reduce manual tasks, and improve decision-making processes. It states that by 2027, nearly 15% of new applications will be automatically generated by AI without a human in the loop. Also, AI agents will lead to a flattening of organisational structures, with up to 20% of organisations eliminating middle management positions by 2026.

A Forrester report titled 'The State of AI Agents, 2024' states that AI agents are advancing from decision-making to action. It emphasises that businesses will lead the adoption of AI agents, but tech and risks will temper timelines.

According to Forbes, by 2028, agentic AI will be responsible for making 15% of everyday work decisions.

Using AI agents for businesses: Important questions

Driving business outcomes with AI agents requires a strategy along with collaboration from enterprise teams. Businesses can ask themselves the following questions to understand how ready they are for AI agent adoption.

• How does an AI agent align with their overall business goals and strategic objectives?

• Do they have a governance framework in place to manage the deployment and ethical use of an AI agent?

• How does the AI agent help in enhancing existing processes and enterprise strategy?