These supercharged AI tools aim to streamline tedious tasks, from pulling data from emails to updating apps and even navigating websites.
Major players like Nvidia, Microsoft, Google, and Salesforce are investing heavily in agentic AI, Yahoo reports. These tools promise to transform how both businesses and individuals interact with technology, making AI not just a tool for information retrieval but an active assistant for everyday tasks.
The potential of AI agents is already being realized. Microsoft reports significant improvements from its internal use of AI agents. Charles Lamanna, Microsoft’s corporate vice president for business and industry Copilot, revealed a 36% increase in IT self-help success rates and a 9.4% rise in revenue per salesperson. The company has also sped up HR case resolutions, showcasing the broad applications of AI agents.
While these advancements are promising, adoption will take time as users adjust to this evolving technology. “If … you immediately get very rapid and very accurate and very meaningful responses, then that can start to change people’s habits,” said Bob O’Donnell, president of TECHnalysis Research. However, he cautioned that such behavioral shifts won’t happen overnight.
AI agents will soon integrate seamlessly into personal and professional workflows. Ray Smith, Microsoft’s vice president of AI agents, explains that AI copilots will serve as a central interface, delegating tasks to specialized AI agents. For example, if you ask your assistant to book a flight, AI agents will coordinate by checking your calendar, preferences, and budget before presenting options.
Google is already testing this concept through its prototype, Project Mariner. In a demo, Mariner navigated websites to retrieve contact emails for companies listed in a Google Sheets document. While still in development, the tool demonstrates how AI agents could automate complex tasks across multiple platforms.
Apple, too, is gearing up for this shift. Future updates to Siri will allow it to perform multistep actions, such as determining when to pick up a family member from the airport by checking email for flight details and factoring in real-time traffic conditions.
High-powered, multistep AI agents won’t go mainstream overnight. Early adoption will focus on more straightforward enterprise use cases, like automating IT processes and streamlining repetitive tasks.
“There’s going to be … more boring agents that do productive things, things that automate IT processes, [and] other tedious tasks,” O’Donnell said. These foundational applications will pave the way for broader adoption of AI agents as their capabilities evolve.
By the end of 2025, AI agents could become indispensable tools, redefining productivity and setting the stage for a new era of generative AI.
