Building and rolling out AI-based systems might seem like a big and unwieldy project, fraught with risks. However, another mode of delivery is emerging: AI-based agents. Generative AI has added new heft and capabilities to agents that have often been difficult to set up and manage. New research shows these easier-to-set-up services are capturing the attention of technologists and their business leaders. AI-based agents represent the “next frontier” of AI, according to a report from consultant McKinsey. The report predicts the influence of agentic systems — defined as “digital systems that can independently interact in a dynamic world” — will increase. While agentic systems have been around for some time, “the natural-language capabilities of gen AI unveil new possibilities, enabling systems that can plan their actions, use online tools to complete those tasks, collaborate with other agents and people, and learn to improve their performance,” the McKinsey team of authors, led by Lareina Yee, stated. The next stage of generative AI is likely to be even “more transformative”, Yee and her colleagues suggested. “We are beginning an evolution from knowledge-based, gen-AI-powered tools — say, chatbots that answer questions and generate content — to gen AI-enabled agents that use foundation models to execute complex, multistep workflows across a digital world. In short, the technology is moving from thought to action.”
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