{"id":36022,"date":"2025-06-05T16:25:43","date_gmt":"2025-06-05T15:25:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digileaders.com\/?p=36022"},"modified":"2025-06-05T16:55:33","modified_gmt":"2025-06-05T15:55:33","slug":"agentic-ai-is-coming-but-is-your-business-ready","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/digileaders.com\/agentic-ai-is-coming-but-is-your-business-ready\/","title":{"rendered":"Agentic AI is coming, but is your business ready?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The two best known AI agents that have been released by major developers are <\/span>Operator by OpenAI<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>Manus<\/a>\u00a0by a Chinese startup called Butterfly Effect. Those with an OpenAI Pro account (cost: $200\/month) can trial Operator, while Manus has recently become available to the general public. Platforms such as\u00a0<\/span>ServiceNow<\/a>\u00a0and Salesforce are also offering agentic AI solutions. These prototypes are not yet at the \u2019buy a flight\u2019 stage. Instead, they are targeting use cases such as customer support, scheduling and procurement.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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There is, however, a general belief that agentic AI will become increasingly prevalent in the coming months given the companies experimenting in the area.\u00a0Adept<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Cognosys<\/a>,\u00a0 are developing agentic AI to operate software applications for example, reading an online recipe and then feeding the ingredients into your shopping list. Meanwhile,\u00a0CrewAI<\/a>\u00a0are developing a framework for systems where multiple AI agents with different roles and responsibilities will be able to collaborate.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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There is, however, a concern that much that goes by the name of agentic will be hype, as companies claim that their Large Language Model (LLM) chatbots are in fact AI agents, despite having no autonomy to execute tasks.<\/p>\n

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Why readiness matters<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
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Autonomous AI is already creeping into real workflows.\u00a0Mercedes<\/a>\u00a0has incorporated AI agents into its in-vehicle conversation assistance, while\u00a0Bayer<\/a>\u00a0is using them to predict flu trends. While the world was rocked by the introduction of Generative AI in 2022 with the launch of ChatGPT, the next evolutionary stage to agentic AI is underway.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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As with Generative AI, failing to prepare (or simply banning its use) won\u2019t prevent agentic AI from entering an organisation. It just increases the risk of unmanaged and ungoverned adoption. At the same time, don\u2019t be led astray that this is a technical concern. It\u2019s not. It\u2019s\u00a0about strategy, culture, and operations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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What\u2019s changing with agentic AI?<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
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The AI that we have become used to at work and at home has generally been assistive. It can assist with writing an email, with finding how to use the contents of your fridge for dinner, or with summarising large quantities of information.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Agentic AI presents a fundamental shift from these assistive AIs in that it introduces autonomous AI. On receiving a task, agentic AI will\u00a0plan, act and respond\u00a0to whichever tool it interacts with. This enables the agent to improve and streamline processes where possible.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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To illustrate the difference, while an assistive AI will summarise a meeting,\u00a0agentic AI will schedule the meeting, manage clashes, create the agenda and minutes, and take action on all items.\u00a0Imagine an AI that not only schedules meetings but books travel, secures catering, and sends follow-up tasks without human intervention.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Six\u00a0pillars of readiness<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
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A common mistake is to see AI as a technical issue for organisations. AI is, after all, new technology. However, as we\u2019ve seen through adoption of Generative AI, technology operates in a human context. The problems that arise are therefore human as well as technical. Take, for example, the use of shadow AI in which an organisation may ban the use of Generative AI in its policies,\u00a0but its employees continue to use AI on their phones. This way the policy lacks force, and the organisation risks significant loss of Intellectual Property.<\/p>\n

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Readiness for agentic<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
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Strategy\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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What is your organisation\u2019s strategy, and how does agentic AI play into achieving the strategy? Implementing agentic AI without a clear purpose or vision as to how it plays into organisational strategy will at best lead to sub-par performance, at worst seem to be an irrelevance.<\/p>\n

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Compliance, governance and ethics\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Most organisations have a set of explicit values, and some even have values specifically for AI. To be effective, these need to be embedded throughout the technology stack and especially into agentic AI. Does your organisation have governance frameworks and structures in place to oversee the benefits and risks that come with agentic AI?<\/p>\n

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Technology and infrastructure\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In order to function, agentic needs to interact with existing technology and infrastructure. What does your technology stack look like and how might agentic AI fuse most effectively with it? An agent will not be able to manage systems that are not interoperable now.<\/p>\n

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Data\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Does your organisation have the quantity and quality of data to implement agentic AI effectively? Many have rushed in to adopting Generative AI without the core data necessary to produce anything more than disappointing, generic results. For agentic AI to function at its best, it needs to be built around reliable, good quality data.<\/p>\n

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Expertise\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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What\u2019s the level of AI literacy within your organisation? This extends beyond developers or IT enthusiasts to every worker, most of whom will be interacting with AI agents in the next few years. While it doesn\u2019t affect many in the UK, the\u00a0EU\u2019s AI Act<\/a>\u00a0mandates AI literacy programmes for employees of all organisations using AI. While this isn\u2019t currently a legal requirement in the UK, it\u2019s a sensible direction of travel, and one which\u00a0forward-looking organisations will benefit\u00a0from most by embracing now.<\/p>\n

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Common traps to avoid\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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As with any new technology, there are many challenges lying in wait for early adopters, and probably as many for those who wait and risk falling behind. At the moment,\u00a0there\u2019s considerable hype around agentic AI, and vendors could be tempted to dress up a Generative AI chatbot as an AI agent. Look for the degree of autonomy in an agent to evaluate it. At the same time, do you need an agent? If a chatbot is sufficient for your purposes, then don\u2019t\u00a0buy into the hype and stick with what you need.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Secondly, Generative (and agentic) AI displays emergent qualities over time when run at scale. There are a number of governance frameworks available, from\u00a0ISO42001<\/a>\u00a0to the\u00a0National Institute for Standards in Technology\u2019s Risk Management Framework<\/a>\u00a0and of course the EU\u2019s AI Act.\u00a0Using governance frameworks to establish a robust oversight mechanism for all AI, but especially agentic AI, will help to avoid ethical, reputational and compliance risks.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Lastly, customers and employees don\u2019t want to be trapped in AI loops in which they are sent from pillar to post without finding what they want. We’ve all experienced frustrating chatbot loops that refuse to hand off to a human. Imagine that happening with payroll errors or contract disputes.\u00a0It\u2019s essential to look for and listen to user experience through trials and roll out at scale. AI agents can be revolutionary for organisations, but it is helpful to be on the right side of the revolution.<\/p>\n

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What leaders should do next<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
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Leaders need to grasp the potential of agentic AI as benefit and risk to their organisation. They should consider how agentic AI can boost their organisational strategy to identify where best to invest in the technology. Run a risk and opportunity audit to find pilot use cases to trial the technology. To be an early mover in this market, it\u2019s\u00a0crucial to start small and learn fast. Don\u2019t wait for maturity.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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At the same time, plan for maturity from the beginning. Design\u00a0cross-functional oversight structures and governance models that can grow with usage and complexity. These should draw from across the organisation, including IT, operations, legal, HR, procurement and others. Build on existing governance frameworks and organisational policies to embed readiness for AI agents. Consider the organisational culture and determine how best to ready employees for the changes coming, while reassuring them that their jobs are not at risk.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In summary:<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n