Agentic AI

What is agentic AI?

Agentic AI describes AI systems that pursue goals across many steps with some independence, as opposed to answering one prompt at a time. Google Cloud describes it as AI that plans and carries out tasks with minimal human intervention. Anthropic uses the term agentic systems for both fixed workflows, where code sets the steps, and agents, where the model directs its own process.

Why it matters to a revenue leader

Vendors apply the agentic label to very different products, so ask what the system decides on its own and what it can change in your systems. Anthropic advises starting with the simplest approach that works and notes that agentic systems often trade speed and cost for better results on complex tasks. Match the level of independence to the stakes. Account research and first drafts can run with more freedom than pricing or customer commitments, which belong with a named person.

A mechanical services company compares two AI tools. The first writes a follow-up email when a seller asks for one. The second watches for service agreements coming due next quarter, gathers each customer's service history, drafts the renewal proposal and queues it for the account manager without being asked. The second tool is agentic in the sense the term describes, and it needs clearer limits on what it may send.