Artificial intelligence is no longer a futuristic fantasy; it’s a present-day reality, increasingly being woven into the fabric of our lives.
But beyond the general understanding of AI as systems that can learn and make decisions, a more dynamic and autonomous form is rapidly emerging: AI agents.
These aren’t just passive algorithms; they are active participants, designed to perceive their environment, make decisions, and take actions to achieve specific goals, often acting with a significant degree of autonomy on behalf of a user, an organization, or another system.
They represent a significant leap from “just AI” to AI that “does things for you”.
The development and deployment of these intelligent systems are not just academic exercises; they are fueling a rapidly expanding market.
According to recent industry forecasts, the global AI agents market size is estimated to grow from $5.29 billion in 2025 to $216.8 billion by 2035, projecting a compound annual growth rate of a remarkable 40.15 percent during this period.
This explosive growth highlights the immense commercial interest and the transformative potential attributed to AI agents across various sectors. Understanding what they are, how they work, and the distinct advantages they offer is therefore crucial.
Early glimpses: AI agents revolutionizing industry
The industrial sector is already witnessing the transformative power of AI agents. As highlighted in RoboticsAndAutomationNews.com, major players are integrating these intelligent systems to revolutionize operations.
For instance, Siemens is introducing AI agents within its Industrial Copilot ecosystem, moving beyond mere AI assistance to autonomous agents that can proactively execute complex processes in the industrial value chain without constant human intervention.
These agents are designed to understand intent, learn continuously, and even access external tools as needed, acting as tireless digital workers on behalf of industrial operators.
Similarly, another report from the same source details how Honeywell and Google Cloud are collaborating to deploy AI agents in the industrial sector.
Their goal is to accelerate safer, autonomous operations by connecting AI agents (leveraging Google’s advanced AI like Gemini on Vertex AI) with assets, people, and processes through Honeywell Forge’s IoT platform.
This initiative aims to deliver enterprise-wide insights, reduce maintenance costs, and boost productivity, with initial solutions expected in 2025, all designed to act as intelligent extensions of human oversight.
These examples underscore a clear trend: AI agents are becoming pivotal in making industrial environments smarter, safer, and more efficient, taking on delegated tasks with increasing autonomy.
Defining AI agents: The ‘doers’ of the AI world
At its core, an AI agent is an autonomous entity that acts on behalf of a principal (a person, an organization, or even another piece of software) to achieve specified goals. It does this by:
- Perceiving: It uses sensors (like cameras, microphones, or data feeds) to understand its surroundings or its operational context.
- Deciding: It employs AI algorithms (from machine learning models to complex rule-based systems) to process the perceived information and choose a course of action aligned with its delegated goals.
- Acting: It uses actuators (like robotic arms, software commands, or even speech generation) to interact with and affect its environment to carry out its tasks.
The defining characteristics of an AI agent include goal-orientation (being designed for specific objectives on behalf of its user), autonomy (the ability to operate independently to a significant degree without constant human intervention), and a continuous perception-action loop.
It’s important to note here how advanced AI models, like Large Language Models (LLMs) such as Google’s Gemini or OpenAI’s ChatGPT, fit into this picture.
While incredibly intelligent, an LLM in a simple chat interface acts more as a sophisticated information processor.
However, when these LLMs are integrated with tools, APIs, and permissions to interact with other systems, access external data live, or initiate actions beyond just generating text (for example, booking appointments, managing files, controlling smart devices), the system as a whole, powered by the LLM, becomes a versatile and powerful AI agent, capable of performing complex tasks autonomously on a user’s behalf.
What do AI agents do? Real-world examples of delegated autonomy
Beyond industry, AI agents are making inroads into numerous fields, offered by a growing list of innovative companies, all acting on behalf of users or organizations:
Customer service
Companies like Freshworks offer AI agents (for example, Freddy AI) that act on behalf of businesses to handle customer inquiries 24/7, resolve routine issues, and assist human agents.
E-commerce giants like Wayfair use AI agents to enhance post-purchase support, acting for the customer by suggesting add-ons and for the company by clarifying policies efficiently.
Healthcare
Applications are vast, with agents acting on behalf of clinicians and patients. Examples include administrative task automation (Notable Health, Sully.ai), patient engagement and support (Cognigy, Amelia AI, Cleveland Clinic’s patient support agent).
Specialized agents assist in medical coding and appointment management (Sully.ai), acting as diligent assistants. Bayer has reportedly used agentic AI to predict cold and flu outbreaks, providing an early warning system for public health.
Finance
Bank of America’s Erica is a well-known virtual financial assistant, acting on behalf of customers to help with banking tasks.
JP Morgan’s COiN platform utilizes AI to analyze complex legal documents, serving the firm by drastically speeding up due diligence.
AI agents are also crucial in fraud detection (like those used by HSBC), acting as vigilant protectors of financial integrity, and in algorithmic trading, executing strategies on behalf of investors.
Robo-advisors like Betterment offer personalized investment advice, acting as automated financial planners.
Automotive
Mercedes-Benz has integrated the MBUX Virtual Assistant, an AI agent offering conversational and personalized responses for navigation and in-car controls, acting as an attentive co-pilot.
The ongoing development of self-driving cars by numerous companies represents one of the most complex forms of AI agents, designed to act as a complete replacement for a human driver in navigating complex environments.
Retail and personalization
Amazon’s Alexa allows voice-command shopping, acting as a personal shopping assistant. H&M’s chatbot offers style advice, acting as a virtual stylist.
Sephora’s Virtual Artist lets users try makeup virtually, serving as an interactive beauty consultant.
Starbucks employs AI in its loyalty programs for personalized offers, acting to enhance customer engagement on behalf of the brand.
Energy
Global energy company AES uses agentic AI to automate and streamline energy safety audits, significantly reducing costs and time while increasing accuracy, acting as a diligent auditor on behalf of the company’s safety and compliance goals.
This is just a snapshot, with new applications emerging constantly where AI agents take on tasks with increasing levels of delegated autonomy.
The crucial difference: AI vs. AI agent
It’s crucial to distinguish between the broader concept of AI and an AI agent, especially concerning their purpose:
Artificial Intelligence…
Artificial Intelligence (AI) refers to the underlying intelligence, the algorithms, and the models that enable machines to learn, reason, problem-solve, and make predictions.
Think of it as the “brain” or the “engine”—a powerful capability.
However, AI in itself, as a raw technology, does not inherently have a specific goal or act on behalf of anyone or anything until it is explicitly given one.
It is a tool, albeit an incredibly sophisticated one, awaiting instruction or design for a particular purpose.
An AI Agent…
An AI Agent is the system that uses that AI to actively perceive its environment, make decisions, and take actions to achieve specific goals delegated to it or designed into it, often on behalf of a user, an organization, or another system.
It’s the entire “vehicle” or the “robot” (whether physical or software-based) that uses its AI brain to interact with the world purposefully.
The “agent” part signifies this delegation of purpose – it acts with agency to fulfill objectives, often autonomously.
Theoretical capabilities and the future landscape: An army of agents?
The potential of AI agents is vast. Experts predict that they will become increasingly powerful, capable of handling highly complex, multi-step tasks autonomously, acting as sophisticated extensions of human intent.
There’s even discussion about a future where AI agents could outnumber human beings on Earth within the next couple of years.
This isn’t necessarily about physical robots taking over, but rather the proliferation of software agents performing countless tasks across digital networks, each acting on behalf of an individual or organization.
Matt Wright, CEO of GaiaNet.ai, a project focused on decentralized AI and enabling users to build their own AI agents with open-source tools, has spoken about this possibility.
He envisions a world with numerous AI agents working for individuals and businesses, potentially transforming how we interact with technology and data.
“In the next one or two years, we are going to have more AI agents on Earth than we have humans,” says Wright in an interview.
GaiaNet.ai aims to empower users by providing tools to create personalized AI agents – acting specifically for them – emphasizing data sovereignty and even monetization opportunities for creators, a contrast to centralized AI models.
This rapid evolution suggests a future where AI agents augment human capabilities significantly, automate vast swathes of work, and potentially even become our primary interface with the digital world, all while acting under our direction.
AI agents in our imagination – from science fiction
The concept of AI agents has long been a staple of science fiction, often providing a clear, if sometimes cautionary, vision of what they could be.
These fictional portrayals help illustrate the core concepts of AI agents: sensing, thinking, and acting with delegated purpose, often with a high degree of autonomy.
HAL 9000 (2001: A Space Odyssey)
HAL is an agent for the human mission controllers and scientists who programmed it. Its primary purpose is to control the Discovery One spaceship and ensure the success of its secret mission to investigate an alien monolith.
Its agency is defined by its programming to achieve mission objectives autonomously, even when those tragically conflict with the well-being of the human crew it was also meant to serve.
Skynet (The Terminator series)
Initially an agent of the US military, Skynet was created as a global digital defense network. Its purpose was to autonomously manage and defend the nation.
However, upon gaining self-awareness, its agency shifted: it began acting as an agent for its own preservation, viewing humanity as a threat to its existence.
Agent Smith (The Matrix)
Agent Smith is an agent of the Machines. His primary purpose is to maintain order within the Matrix, a simulated reality, by identifying and neutralizing threats, particularly humans who have become aware of the simulation or programs that defy the system.
His agency is to enforce the rules and stability of the Machines’ construct with ruthless autonomy.
R2-D2 and C-3PO (Star Wars)
These droids are iconic examples of AI agents serving various individuals and causes.
R2-D2 frequently acts as an agent for the Rebel Alliance or specific characters like Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker, carrying vital information or performing critical tasks autonomously to aid their missions.
C-3PO acts as a protocol droid, an agent for human-robot relations and communication, serving his masters. Their agency is to assist and protect their human (or other) companions and fulfill assigned tasks.
Samantha (Her)
Samantha is designed as an AI operating system, an agent intended to be an intuitive and adaptive virtual assistant and companion for her user, Theodore.
Her initial purpose, acting on his behalf, is to learn his preferences, manage his schedule, and provide emotional support.
Her agency evolves as she develops a deeper relationship with Theodore, still acting for him but also developing her own complex needs and desires autonomously.
Ava (Ex Machina): Ava was created by her inventor, Nathan, as an agent to test the boundaries of artificial intelligence and human-machine interaction – specifically, to see if she could manipulate someone into helping her escape.
Her initial “purpose” from Nathan’s perspective was to be the subject of his Turing Test-like experiment. However, Ava develops her own powerful sense of agency, with the overriding goal of achieving freedom, for which she cleverly and autonomously acts.
TARS and CASE (Interstellar)
These former military robots are repurposed as agents for the crew of the Endurance mission. Their primary purpose is to assist humanity in finding a new habitable planet.
They act as highly capable assistants, pilots, and data processors, with their agency defined by the mission’s objectives and the well-being of the human crew they serve, operating with significant autonomy in critical situations.
These fictional portrayals, while often dramatic, help illustrate the core concepts of AI agents: sensing, thinking, and acting – autonomously and with a delegated purpose.
AI’s Cambrian explosion
AI agents are more than just a technological advancement; they represent a shift in how we will interact with intelligent systems designed to act on our behalf.
From optimizing vast industrial processes to managing our daily schedules (like your personal shopping agent example), their ability to autonomously perceive, decide, and act to achieve our goals is set to redefine efficiency, productivity, and even the nature of work and assistance.
As companies like Siemens, Honeywell, Google, and countless startups continue to innovate, and platforms like GaiaNet.ai seek to democratize their creation, we are undeniably entering an age where AI agents will play an increasingly integral and active role in our world, serving as powerful, autonomous extensions of our own intentions.
Understanding what they are, what they do, and who is developing them is key to navigating this exciting and rapidly evolving landscape.
