Skip the Hype, Here’s How AI ‘Agents’ Can Really Help
Forget super assistants. The real transformation is happening one task at a time.
AI agents are better at focused, repetitive tasks than trying to achieve PhD level complexity.
Photographer: Lisa Marie David/BloombergSo-called agents are meant to be the next big thing in artificial intelligence this year. If the breathless headlines about them are to be believed, you might think your job is on the line. It’s not (for now at least) — but some back-office occupations probably are.
Last week, OpenAI announced its first agent-like tool called Operator, which carries out online tasks like navigating to a website and clicking on buttons, according to the company. But the idea is not unique. Alphabet Inc.’s Google, Anthropic and Salesforce Inc. have all launched platforms for agents, or AI systems that can act autonomously. Imagine, for instance, a customer service bot that doesn’t just generate information, but can also book an appointment or lodge a complaint. Mark Zuckerberg has said they’ll replace mid-level software engineers this year, and earlier this month, Axios reported that a tech firm was preparing to release software that could autonomously handle complex tasks at a “PhD level.” The hype around AI agents and their capabilities has reached fever pitch.