AI is evolving fast. But more importantly, the way AI is applied inside companies is changing shape.
Until now, AI has largely played a supporting role. It enhanced specific steps inside other workflows. It has helped extract meaning, classify sentiment, make predictions and translate language – all inside a clearly defined process.
But that model is starting to invert. And a new one is taking its place.
AI Agents
Although there is a lot (a lot!) of marketing hype, it’s clear that AI Agents will become “a thing”, and quite a big thing at that.
AI agents are systems that can observe, reason, and act semi-independently (still with human oversight). That means:
- They don’t just answer questions.
- They take initiative.
- They operate across systems.
In simple terms, if old-school automation (from a couple of years ago 😀) was about following the recipe, agents are about choosing what recipe to follow, and adjusting it as they go.
Let’s take a few practical examples:
A site engineer visits a project, takes photos, and records a few notes. Today, someone back at the office uses that info to compile a field report. But with an AI agent, the engineer can simply upload photos and voice notes via mobile, and the agent constructs the report on their behalf, inserting images, identifying missing data, and suggesting improvements.
Or imagine a B2B sales team handling dozens of new leads a day. Instead of manually researching each one, an agent could pull together a profile by scraping LinkedIn, the prospect’s website, and recent news. It flags relevance, possible objections, and even recent buying signals.
These aren’t theoretical. They’re already happening.
So what does it mean to be agent-ready?
It means your operations need to be structured in a way that agents can engage with. That starts with well-defined data, connected systems, and lightweight automation. Agents aren’t a replacement for people, but they also aren’t a drop-in enhancement. They need structure, and above all they need context.
The opportunity is huge. Done well, agents unlock scale, speed, and strategic agility never seen before. They free people to focus on value creation, not repetitive grunt work. But if you wait too long, if your systems aren’t ready, if your processes aren’t clear, if your team isn’t on board – then the curve steepens. Very quickly you could find yourself looking up at a mountain while competitors are making real headway.
You don’t need to implement agents tomorrow. But you should start preparing today.
This doesn’t need to become a standalone workstream. In fact, the most effective approach is to begin gradually by implementing simple automations across the business. As these stack and compound, you’ll naturally build the kind of environment agents thrive in. Teams start thinking more about process, bottlenecks, and the context they’re operating in. And over time, those automations can evolve to become more intelligent, more adaptable, more ‘agentic’ – and capable of moving the needle even further.
