Agentic AI is emerging as the next major evolution in artificial intelligence, moving beyond generative AI to create autonomous systems capable of performing complex tasks independently. At CES in January, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang declared “The age of agentic AI is here,” while OpenAI CEO Sam Altman predicts 2025 will mark the year AI agents begin entering the workforce.
What Makes Agentic AI Different? While closely related to generative AI, agentic AI refers to technology capable of agent-like behavior that can autonomously accomplish complex, multi-step tasks on behalf of users. According to Nvidia’s definition, agentic AI “uses sophisticated reasoning and iterative planning to autonomously solve complex, multi-step problems.” IBM describes it as systems with “agency” that can “make decisions, take actions, solve complex problems and interact with external environments beyond the data upon which the system’s machine learning models were trained.”
Industry Leaders Embrace AI Agents: Major tech companies are racing to develop and deploy agentic AI solutions. Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff told The New York Times that we’re witnessing “a third wave” of AI, following predictive models and generative AI, now “defined by intelligent agents that can autonomously handle complex tasks.” Salesforce launched its Agentforce suite last year and ambitiously plans to have more than 1 billion AI agents in use for companies by the end of 2025.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai revealed the company has been “investing in developing more agentic models” over the past year, defining agentic AI as being able to “understand more about the world around you, think multiple steps ahead, and take action on your behalf, with your supervision.” Google made agentic AI central to its Gemini 2.0 launch in December.
OpenAI is reportedly planning to launch an AI agent code-named “Operator” in January that would use computers on users’ behalf to write code or book flights. Microsoft describes AI agents as ranging “from simple chatbots, to copilots, to advanced AI assistants in the form of digital or robotic systems that can run complex workflows autonomously.”
These AI agents are intended to serve as digital coworkers or assistants across industries including healthcare, supply chain management, cybersecurity, and customer service, fundamentally transforming how businesses operate.
Key Quotes
The age of agentic AI is here.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang proclaimed this at his January CES keynote, signaling that one of the world’s leading AI chip manufacturers sees agentic AI as the current defining phase of artificial intelligence development.
In just a few years, we’ve already witnessed three generations of A.I. First came predictive models that analyze data. Next came generative A.I., driven by deep-learning models like ChatGPT. Now, we are experiencing a third wave — one defined by intelligent agents that can autonomously handle complex tasks.
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff explained this evolution to The New York Times, framing agentic AI as the third major wave of artificial intelligence and positioning it as a fundamental shift beyond generative AI capabilities.
Agentic AI uses sophisticated reasoning and iterative planning to autonomously solve complex, multi-step problems.
Nvidia’s official definition emphasizes the autonomous reasoning and planning capabilities that distinguish agentic AI from previous generations of AI technology, highlighting its ability to handle complex tasks without constant human guidance.
Understand more about the world around you, think multiple steps ahead, and take action on your behalf, with your supervision.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai provided this definition of agentic AI, emphasizing both the autonomous capabilities and the important element of human supervision that remains part of these systems’ operation.
Our Take
The convergence of every major tech company around agentic AI terminology and development suggests we’re at an inflection point in artificial intelligence evolution. What’s particularly significant is the shift from AI as a reactive tool to AI as a proactive agent—systems that don’t just respond but initiate, plan, and execute. Salesforce’s ambitious target of 1 billion agents by end of 2025 indicates enterprise adoption may accelerate faster than previous AI waves. However, the emphasis on “supervision” in Google’s definition reveals an important tension: these systems aren’t truly autonomous but rather semi-autonomous, requiring human oversight. This raises critical questions about liability, decision-making authority, and the practical limits of delegation to AI systems. The race among tech giants also suggests competitive pressure may push deployment faster than safety considerations warrant, making regulatory frameworks and ethical guidelines increasingly urgent.
Why This Matters
The emergence of agentic AI represents a paradigm shift in artificial intelligence that could fundamentally transform the workplace and business operations. Unlike generative AI tools like ChatGPT that respond to prompts, agentic AI systems can independently plan, reason, and execute complex multi-step tasks without constant human intervention. This evolution has profound implications for workforce productivity and job markets, as companies like Salesforce project deploying 1 billion AI agents by year-end 2025.
The technology promises to automate complex workflows across critical industries from healthcare to cybersecurity, potentially augmenting or replacing certain job functions while creating new roles focused on AI supervision and management. The fact that every major tech company—from Google and Microsoft to OpenAI and Nvidia—is heavily investing in agentic AI signals this isn’t just hype but a fundamental technological transition. For businesses, early adoption could provide significant competitive advantages in efficiency and scalability. However, this rapid development also raises important questions about AI safety, oversight, and the future of human work that society must address as these autonomous systems become more prevalent.
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Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-agentic-ai-agents-2024-12