Agentic AI: Are You Ready to Meet Your New Coworker?

Agentic AI is promised to be the next evolution of tech after generative AI, and companies like Microsoft are committing to making it a part of their core strategy – but what does this term mean, and how can businesses responsibly leverage it for a competitive advantage?

If you’re not using AI agents yet, you may be falling behind your competition. “Many organizations are investing in AI to improve efficiency and decision-making, yet they struggle to see meaningful impact,” explains professor, researcher and author Tom Davenport in Harvard Business Review. “The problem? Their underlying business processes weren’t designed for AI. Without rethinking how work gets done, AI initiatives often fail to deliver their promised value. A new approach to process thinking can help reverse this situation.”

We can help you maximize your AI ROI. If you’re interested in learning more about responsibly utilizing these AI tools that can make decisions and act on their own without human intervention, we’ve put together a primer from the globally renowned AI experts represented by Stern Strategy Group.

Whether you’re new to the idea of AI agents or ready to get started collaborating with digital coworkers, read these articles by Stern’s roster of tech pioneers, academics and entrepreneurs to get straightforward, practical guidance on how to get ahead using AI that can think and act for itself.

Processes for Implementing Agentic AI

Paul Daugherty is a visionary technology leader who recently retired from his role as CEO of Accenture’s Technology Group. In his recent co-authored Harvard Business Review article, “The Secret to Successful AI-Driven Process Redesign,” he accessibly explains how powerful agentic AI tools take genAI a step further by making decisions, taking action and improving processes on their own.

Robots Aren’t Magic, But They Could Give Humans Superpowers

Daniela Rus, a prominent roboticist and director of the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL) at MIT, gives a straightforward rundown of the technology powering robots today, what advantages humans have over machines, and how robots can give us new abilities in her compelling book, “The Heart and the Chip: Our Bright Future With Robots.” You can read an excerpt in this recent MIT Ideas Made to Matter article – “Robots Aren’t Magic, but They Could Give Humans ‘Superpowers’”.

AI Trends to Follow or Ignore

Tom Davenport, an MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy fellow and a pioneering authority on AI strategies, delivers pragmatic guidance on discerning the promises of agentic AI from media-driven hype in “Five Trends in AI and Data Science for 2025,” his fascinating look ahead in the MIT Sloan Management Review.

What Will AI Agents Help Us Do?

Rana el Kaliouby, an AI trailblazer whose work on emotional, humanized AI tools is essential to organizations designing ethical business strategies, recently launched the captivating “Pioneers in AI” podcast. In a standout episode, “How Agentic AI Will Save Customer Service,” Rana is joined by Bret Taylor, former co-CEO of Salesforce and co-founder of Sierra, which focuses on developing conversational AI platforms for businesses, to explore how to build AI agents that can represent a brand’s mission and voice.

How to Harness AI Agents

David De Cremer, dean of Northeastern University’s D’Amore-McKim School of Business, founder of the Centre on AI Technology for Humankind and a global authority standing at the intersection of leadership, AI and the future of work just teamed up with Davenport on “Agentic Artificial Intelligence: Harnessing AI Agents to Reinvent Business, Work and Life.”

Redefining Human Potential in the Age of Identic AI

Joseph M. Bradley, CEO of TONOMUS, is a trailblazing thought leader who redefines what’s possible in the age of AI and digital transformation. With over 30 years of leadership experience in Silicon Valley and the Middle East, his upcoming book “You to the Power of Two” (December 2025) prepares leaders to thrive in world of personal AI agents, showing how identic AI will reshape how we work, learn and connect.

Your Personal Team of Analysts

Azeem Azhar has built a reputation as one of the tech industry’s most influential futurists who can look ahead to the important technology trends of tomorrow and advise leaders on what actions to take today. In a recent podcast appearance, he explains how AI agents that can perform complex research “is like having a team of analysts” at your fingertips. 

Let AI Agents Handle the Mundane

Peter Schwartz, Chief Futures Officer at Salesforce, is an internationally renowned futurist and business strategist who specializes in scenario planning and helping companies prepare for the future. In a sit-down with The Straits Times, he outlines how an airline’s AI-powered virtual assistant made changing a complex reservation smooth, thorough and fast.

AI Agents, Digital Twins and Trust

Natalie Monbiot is the founder of Virtual Human Economy and a pioneer in shaping a bold new frontier where AI doesn’t replace us, it reflects us. As AI agents and digital twins become more accessible than ever, Natalie tackles an important question in her fascinating TEDx Talk – is your digital twin trustworthy?

The Collaborative Agentic Internet

Tricia Wang is a technology and AI expert who serves as a trusted advisor and consultant to global organizations seeking to unlock the full potential of data and artificial intelligence. Urging collaboration among developers and technologists, she’s working to ensure a trustworthy, interoperable future for the Agentic Internet.

Developing AI for All

World renowned responsible AI pioneer Rumman Chowdhury is a champion of the great potential of AI. But, as she explains in her eye-opening TED Talk “Your Right to Repair AI Systems,” in order to reach that potential, non-experts must also be part of the development process.

The Economy of Bots

Kevin Kelly, the founding executive editor of WIRED magazine, is recognized around the world as perhaps the leading futurist of his generation. In a wide ranging interview on Azeem Azhar’s Exponential View podcast, he zooms in on an essential aspect of growing agentic systems – the coming “bot-to-bot economy.”

“Generative” Is So 2024, 2025 Is for the Agents

Mark Esposito, a faculty associate at Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society, teaches leaders how to identify emerging trends and build the future with foresight. Mark joined us on our Minds Worth Meeting podcast to discuss what the next step in AI looks like and why agentic AI is one of the top buzzwords of 2025.

The experts represented by Stern Strategy Group can help your organization learn about, prepare for or even implement an agentic AI strategy that can take your business to the next level. Also available for one-on-one coaching or extended term advising, the authorities we work with can bring your leaders the resources they need to win in our new AI-powered world.

If you’re exploring AI tools that can make decisions and act independently, it’s important to get practical guidance on how to implement them in ways that keep humans at the center. Stern Strategy Group connects you with renowned thought leaders whose insights, strategies and management frameworks help organizations fuel growth and disruptive innovation to better compete in a constantly changing world. Let us arrange for these esteemed experts to advise your organization via virtual and in-person consulting sessions, workshops and keynotes.