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AI Meets Autonomy
The first question you may have is: What exactly is Agentic AI? The term 'agentic' refers to 'agent-like behavior,' meaning something that makes decisions, takes actions, and even learns from itself independently. It's a type of AI that can accomplish tasks autonomously within a predefined framework - think of it like a virtual assistant that can think, reason, and adapt its behavior without needing constant direction. In short, Agentic AI can:
Perceive data from the world around it
Think about and process data to understand the situation
Take action based on the data
Learn from experience and feedback to continuously improve
But how does autonomy in AI even work? Well, Agentic AI is built on Large Language Models and advanced algorithms. With machine learning it can interpret data, make decisions and take actions while simultaneously learning from its own data.
The goal? To have its AI Agents complete assigned goals and tasks and thus automating end-to-end processes, wherever and whenever its needed.
AI Agents, the Virtual Helpers
An AI agent is basically a virtual or digital 'employee' that is designed to perform a specific task. What type of tasks? You can have an agent that writes newsletters, an agent that analyzes feedback results, an agent that helps customers track their orders, an agent that helps cancel or renew subscriptions, an agent that helps create tickets or to-do lists based on pictures you send to it, an agent that helps select candidates for vacancies, an agent that assist with sales to help find the perfect product for that specific customers, and so on, and on, and on.
AI agents are industry agnostic and unbounded. It would be easier to ask what we cannot build with AI agents, because the possibilities are countless.
- Rutger de Ruiter, Head of Product Engage, CM.com
AI agents are your little virtual helpers that do exactly what you tell them to do, and with Agentic AI, creating agents to automate tasks becomes easy. Just write a prompt into Agentic AI - just like you would in a person-to-person conversation - and your agent will be created. Not a single line of code needed to create this digital helper. You can tell it what to do, but also where to get its information, and how it should sound or react to certain things based on the brand image you wish to portray.
Isn't AI a Bit Scary?
There are still many hesitations when it comes to AI, and hearing about a system that can autonomously make decisions and take action may be a bit scary for some. How do you keep control of that AI? Won't it get a mind of its own? What happens to all that data?
Rest assured, there's really no need to get stressed. First of all, the autonomy of Agentic AI has its boundaries - the framework and/or guidelines you set up for it and in which it operates. This framework will also make the actions of the AI agent transparant and monitorable. If the agent does display some unwanted behavior, you can just tell it to stop doing that. Just like you would correct a misbehaving human, you can set the AI agent straight by simply telling it what behavior it should correct in 'normal language'.
Lastly, Agentic AI systems are highly secured and comply with GDPR and ISO regulations - more often than not they even exceed these security requirements. And there will always be a degree of governance over Agentic AI systems - who has control over the agents? And who can edit their behavior? Establishing control mechanisms and managing who can - or cannot- tweak these agents helps prevent unintended use and behaviors.
Let People be Human Again
Another concern that is often heard when talking about AI, is that it will replace us humans in the workplace - stealing our jobs and making us redundant! While it is true that the use of (Agentic) AI can change the workplace environment, it's not because it replaces humans. Contrary to that, it helps humans improve their work by taking over and assisting with repetitive and menial tasks.
Need to copy data from one platform into another? Let the AI agent do it. Need to sift through large data files to connect and summarize information? The AI agent can do it for you! This will free the hands of people, so they can focus more on strategic and creative work, and matters that require a human touch. Agentic AI is a tool that improves the work environment, freeing up time that is otherwise wasted on repetitive tasks, and allowing people to be human again.
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