Is your business ready for the rise of AI agents?

Y​​​​​​​ou might not be familiar with AI agents — but you will be. Soon they will be everywhere. 

AI Agents represent the next evolution of AI, which began with the generative pre-trained chatbots like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and others. Those models are the foundation for agents. 

These AI-powered software entities are designed to perform tasks or services autonomously or semi-autonomously based on their programming, learned behavior, and data inputs. They can make decisions, achieve outcomes, and interact with digital systems based on predefined rules and learned patterns. For instance, agents can use software apps, websites, and other online tools, including spreadsheets, online calendars, travel sites, and more. These characteristics will allow your business to become more efficient and free your people to focus on more strategic priorities. 

Here is a simple example: the expense report. Within two years, humans won’t need to approve the vast majority of expense reports. Instead, AI agents will do it. These agents will be trained on your company policies, including a thorough review of previous expense reports. Then, they will be able to make their own decisions on what to approve and what to deny. 

AI agents will schedule meetings, manage emails, and run business analytics. Someday, not too far off in the future, we’ll even have agent assistants that help us navigate everyday tasks in our personal lives.

As these highly sophisticated agents evolve, they will necessitate a new approach of administration, observation, and supervision. 

Firstly, ensuring data access will be key. Today, much of the emphasis on AI concerns LLMs that power chatbots. These LLMs are based on publicly available information. Here’s what they don’t know: your business. Harnessing the power of AI and agents will require you to provide access to trusted, proprietary data. That’s what fuels successful AI. Only by integrating systems and automating processes to create data pipelines will LLMs have the critical information that empowers agents to accomplish tasks. 

The second tenet to consider is agent management. Businesses will need places to build, manage, and deploy these agentic applications. Agents will make critical decisions with the business. So, leaders must know everything about agents because they are essentially digital employees that work for us and represent our companies. You will need to understand what these agents are, who installed them, where they reside, what they’re deciding, their training methods, and whether they’re hallucinating. Are they meeting governance requirements like standards around personally identifiable information (PII)? Agent gardens will be the location for overseeing the agents your business creates and third-party agents you purchase. 

The third key element is training and transparent Implementation. The success of any technology project hinges on human proficiency. A recent Boomi survey revealed that the primary obstacle preventing businesses from being AI-ready is a lack of AI skills and expertise. Training will be a part of preparing for the agent portion of the AI revolution. But more than that, it’s about educating employees how these digital minions can help them enhance their productivity by handling routine tasks and allowing them to focus on creative, more impactful activities. AI agents are here to assist, not to displace. 

AI is revolutionising our approach to software and the management of our business operations. AI agents are the next phase of this transformation. They’re already changing the nature of business functions that have existed for decades, from finance to marketing to customer service, and have nearly limitless potential. The realisation of this potential is in your hands. 

An AI agent framework for integration and automation scenarios, serves as a solid foundation for any business looking to implement, manage, and leverage agents.