By Sailesh Raghavan
AI is no longer just assisting — it’s taking action. An AI agent now selects your groceries, tracks consumption and compares prices, prioritises emails, schedules meetings and drafts responses. These aren’t futuristic scenarios; they’re happening now.
While generative AI has dominated discussions, agentic AI is the real game-changer. Agentic AI automates workflows, makes independent decisions and operates with minimal oversight.
The terms “AI agents” and “agentic AI” are often used interchangeably, but they are distinct. AI agents are applications designed to execute multi-step tasks independently – like digital assistants or automated workflows. Agentic AI is the broader field enabling this autonomy, focusing on systems that take initiative, adapt, and make decisions.
Generative AI creates text, images, and code but lacks autonomy. The power lies in their intersection: Agentic AI can leverage Gen AI for communication, problem-solving, and execution.
Why should businesses take notice? Agentic AI-enabled systems introduce new efficiencies by automating complex and open-ended tasks. They enhance automation through:
Managing multiplicity: Traditional automation follows linear workflows, while AI agents handle multiple workflows simultaneously.
Natural language interaction: Agentic AI understands instructions in natural language, making it easier to deploy for complex tasks.
Integration with existing platforms: These agents can analyse and generate knowledge while also operating tools and engaging with broader digital ecosystems.
Improving decision-making: Agentic AI can provide real-time insights and act on them. Instead of alerting teams to six issues, it could fix four automatically and flag the remaining two for review.
Businesses looking to integrate agentic AI must consider three key factors in delegating tasks to AI. One, what is the value versus cost of automation? Two, can the AI perform the task reliably? Three, what are the consequences if it fails? By addressing these, agentic AI optimises workflows, reduces costs and enhances responsiveness.
Beyond IT, agentic AI is transforming various sectors. In healthcare, AI agents can optimise patient workflows, automate medical coding and predict treatment plans using real-time data. In finance, AI-driven compliance monitoring can prevent fraud and automate regulatory checks, reducing manual intervention.
The rise of agentic AI presents a rare opportunity — to redefine work, drive innovation, and solve complex global challenges. But realising its full potential requires responsibility. Collaboration between governments, businesses, and researchers will be essential to ensure ethical development, transparency, and trust.
Throughout history, every major tech leap — from printing press to the internet — has sparked both excitement and concern. Agentic AI is no different. Rather than fearing its capabilities, businesses must actively shape and govern AI’s role in society.
The writer is VP – Technology, Publicis Sapient
