What are AI Agents?

An important component of Agentic AI are AI agents. These AI agents act as virtual employees with a certain degree of autonomy within the Agentic AI framework, designed to perform tasks on behalf of the business.

There are many types of AI agents, from agents that automate transactions to agents that help monitor data and processes, each tailored to perform its task autonomously. For example, AI agents can help with order management to streamline services, give shopping advice to help convert and boost sales, and much more. And there is no real limit to how many AI agents a business can create - except for the limit on available resources.

How to Control the Output of AI Agents?

Some may fear that AI technology can get a 'mind of its own' and that it is difficult to control. When employing multiple AI agents at once, there's also a risk of them getting in the way of each other.

So, how does one control AI agents? First, with a platform that has governance or quality assurance options, by setting clear objectives, and implementing role-based access. This makes sure that there is no unauthorized use possible with the AI tooling. And secondly, by actively monitoring the performance of the AI agents. Use dashboards to keep track on behavior and results, and tweak the AI agents accordingly to make sure everything works seamlessly and results keep improving.

What Are Use Cases of Agentic AI Agents?

Customer Service

With an Agentic AI agent, a business can provide 24/7 support, not just for answering frequently asked questions, but also allowing for self-service to make sure customers receive the help they need, whenever they need it. This will in turn also free the hands of your real-life customer service representatives, who can now focus on the tasks where human interference can be of real added value.

In customer service, Agentic AI can have a positive influence on customer satisfaction rates by handling inquiries, providing instant support with data-driven and objective responses, analyzing feedback, and facilitating self-service options such as creating and sending tracking links, registering returns in the system, and handling complaints efficiently.

Marketing

Agentic AI can help automate customer segmentation, personalize content, schedule, launch and manage marketing campaigns, and analyze consumer data for optimized marketing strategies. Setting up marketing campaigns can be effortless with a little help from the smart AI agent. And that's not all!

Every step of the customer journey can be automated, with a focus on two-way communication with customers to create that important connection. This way, businesses can offer customers the same shopping experience in online channels as if they were in-store with a store employee, travel agent or account manager. Gather information, reduce friction, and watch your conversion and customer satisfaction rates rise as customers will be able to find the right products and/or services in a natural and engaged way.

And the best part of it? It's all organized from one central point: Agentic AI. No need for multiple data and marketing tools to try and tie all loose ends together.

The Ethics and Security of AI

Employing (Agentic) AI for business naturally evokes some important questions and discussions. Is it safe? It is impersonal and cold? Will it affect the jobs of employees? Let's address these concerns:

Security

Protecting user data and ensuring the security of AI systems to prevent unauthorized access and manipulation is critical. Agentic AI systems often require access to large amounts of personal and sensitive information. It is essential to establish robust data protection measures, such as encryption and anonymization, to safeguard user privacy. It is also wise to systematically test for vulnerabilities, making sure that the systems stay safe even with the newest evolutions of cyber threats.

Simultaneously, users should be informed about how their data will be used so they can consent to it - or deny it. Transparency about data collection, processing, and usage is crucial to maintaining trust with customers and compliance with regulations like GDPR.

Governance and quality assurance are also important when using (Agentic) AI. Governance allows control over who can create or manage AI agents, and there should always be a level of human oversight to ensure AI aligns with human values and interests. Establishing control mechanisms helps prevent unintended behaviors.

Behavior

The tone of voice, preferred wording and actions of Agentic AI can be customized and personalized to fit any business. Agentic AI agents can emulate the conversation-styles of real-life customer service representatives, so the experience in itself should not 'feel' impersonal or robot-like, unless the business itself programmed the AI as such.

That being said, there will always be cases where human interaction is the preferred solution, and in those cases, the AI agent can seamlessly handover queries to its human colleagues.

Similar to the tone of voice, AI systems learn biases based on the training data provided. Efforts should be made to identify, mitigate, and monitor biases to ensure fair treatment of all users, regardless of demographic characteristics.

Employment

A question or sentiment that is often heard about AI is that it will replace people and cause redundancy on the work floor. While it is true that Agentic AI can significantly alter job landscapes by automating tasks, it's more likely to assist by handling repetitive roles and freeing people to focus on more strategic and creative work. It's a tool for augmentation rather than replacement. And yes, some jobs may cease to exist, but others will arise. Ethical deployment of Agentic AI involves considering the impacts on employment and pursuing strategies for retraining and upskilling affected workers.