Artificial intelligence agents may just be the next frontier in business automation, but its widespread adoption faces some major challenges.
Here are five things to know about AI agents.
1. What Are AI Agents?
AI agents are software tools that use artificial intelligence (AI) to learn, make decisions, and take action. They can work independently or as part of a larger system, according to Amazon. They perform tasks autonomously by interacting with their environment, gathering data, and executing actions to achieve specific goals. These agents use machine learning and algorithms to come to decisions. Some say businesses can streamline operations by using AI agents. For example, a customer service AI agent might handle queries, suggest solutions, and escalate issues to humans when needed.
2. Businesses Still Cautious
While tech companies like OpenAI and Microsoft are pushing AI agents as the future of business, many companies remain wary. At a recent CIO Network Summit, 61 percent of attendees said they were experimenting with AI agents, but 21 percent admitted they weren’t using them at all. Key concerns include reliability and cybersecurity, with 29 percent of summit attendees naming data privacy as their top concern, The Wall Street Journal reported.
3. Not Trusted
One of the biggest obstacles to adoption of AI agents is trust. Companies are reluctant to hand over control to AI agents without clear frameworks to handle errors and security breaches. AI experts like Bret Taylor, co-founder of the AI startup Sierra, advocate for businesses to accept the imperfection of the technology, emphasizing that the key is to put mitigation strategies in place for when things go wrong. “This is the way your company is going to have its branded customer experience that can actually have a conversation with you, and it’s going to do everything you can do on the website,” Taylor told CNBC.
4. Can AI Agents Enhance Productivity?
When deployed effectively, experts say AI agents can improve a company’s productivity. They can take on repetitive and time-consuming tasks, allowing human workers to focus on more strategic and creative activities. For example, AI agents can assist in data analysis, handle customer support tickets, or even automate scheduling tasks. This can lead to faster decision-making, reduced costs, and improved customer service, according to Forbes.
5. Defining The Business Model
AI adoption is not universal. Some industries, especially those without clear financial metrics, may struggle to identify the business case for implementing AI agents. Sectors like education, healthcare, and social care may find it more challenging to quantify the return on investment, making them slower to adopt the technology. For industries with more measurable outcomes, such as finance and retail, the shift to AI agents could happen more rapidly, Forbes reported.
