AI Agents Are Here: Will You Lead or Be Left Behind?

Learn more about AI Agents from upcoming Jan 2025 book, AI or Die, free excerpt here.

I entered the military at 17 and gained access to the internet before it became publicly available. Over the years, I helped companies implement large ERP, CRM, and HR systems during the Y2K scare, co-led the transformation driving much of healthcare's digitization in big pharma, medical devices, biologics, and cloud computing, and eventually founded a company to pioneer mobile marketing—fielding calls around the clock from clients worldwide. Yet, what I’ve witnessed in the past two years makes all those waves of change feel like mere ripples. Collaborating with clients and colleagues across the globe, I can confidently say that 2025 will usher in one of the most dramatic shifts in the nature of work we’ve ever seen.

The Future Is Now, and It’s Ruthless

AI agents are no longer just coming—they’re here. They’ve stepped out of sci-fi fantasies and into the boardrooms, assembly lines, and even your inbox. Autonomous, relentless, and shockingly efficient, these digital powerhouses are poised to reshape everything from marketing to healthcare. They’re not just transforming industries; they’re rewriting the rules of survival for businesses and professionals alike. The question isn’t if they’ll change the game—it’s whether you’ll be ready to play.

Interest: The Agents Taking Over

AI agents, driven by cutting-edge advancements like OpenAI’s Operator and AWS’s Multi-Agent Orchestrator, are designed to think, learn, and act autonomously. Imagine customer service that never sleeps, software that writes itself, and supply chains that adapt in real-time. These agents don’t just assist—they take over, handling complex, multi-step tasks with precision and speed.

Examples of their prowess include:

• Marketing: Personalized customer journeys crafted in seconds.
• Healthcare: Revolutionized diagnostics and clinical trials.
• Software Development: Automation of coding, debugging, and deployment.

The result? Organizations operating at a level of efficiency previously thought impossible.

AI Agent Platforms

Here are 7 AI Agent platforms under development or in full use today.

• AgentGPT: AgentGPT is a web-based platform that enables users to deploy autonomous AI agents capable of performing tasks with minimal human intervention. It excels in autonomous task execution and memory management through vector databases, allowing AI agents to retain execution history and access long-term memory.
• DoBrowser.io. Do Browser is an AI-powered agent designed for the Chrome browser, enabling users to automate various web tasks with simple descriptions. By typing "do," users can initiate the automation process, allowing the AI to complete the specified tasks. The service, developed by Sawyer and Ryan, is currently in a pre-release phase. Interested individuals can join the waitlist for early access.
• CrewAI: CrewAI is a framework designed to facilitate the collaboration of role-based AI agents, where each agent is assigned specific roles and goals, allowing them to operate as a cohesive unit. This framework is ideal for building sophisticated multi-agent systems such as multi-agent research teams.
• Microsoft AutoGen: Developed by Microsoft, AutoGen is an open-source framework that allows developers to create AI agents capable of interacting with each other and with humans to solve complex tasks. It supports various tools, including code executors and function callers, allowing agents to perform complex tasks autonomously.
• LangGraph: LangGraph integrates seamlessly with LangChain, providing access to a wide range of tools and models. It supports tool calling, memory, and human-in-the-loop interactions, allowing users to leverage a broad ecosystem of tools to extend the functionality of their agents.
• AWS Bedrock Agents: Amazon Web Services (AWS) offers Bedrock Agents, a suite of AI tools designed to manage complex tasks across various applications. These agents integrate seamlessly with AWS's cloud infrastructure, providing scalable solutions for businesses aiming to enhance their operations with AI capabilities.
• Salesforce Agentforce: Salesforce has introduced Agentforce, a comprehensive AI system that embeds intelligent agents across its platform. Agentforce aims to boost productivity in sales, marketing, and commerce by automating routine tasks and providing insightful analytics, thereby enabling more personalized customer interactions.
• Google DeepMind's Gemini: Google's DeepMind has developed Gemini, a multimodal large language model designed to perform a variety of tasks across different domains. Gemini integrates advanced language understanding with AI capabilities, facilitating complex problem-solving and decision-making processes.
• OpenAI's ChatGPT: OpenAI's ChatGPT is an AI language model that provides conversational interfaces for various applications. It assists in tasks ranging from customer service to content generation, leveraging its advanced language processing capabilities to understand and respond to user inputs effectively.

Desire: Unlocking Untapped Potential

AI agents promise a utopia for businesses willing to embrace them: skyrocketing productivity, accelerated innovation, and a laser-sharp competitive edge. But there’s a darker side. For the unprepared, these agents represent a massive disruption—one that could leave outdated processes and resistant employees in the dust.

This isn’t just a shift; it’s a seismic upheaval. Companies like Microsoft and Salesforce are already embedding AI agents into their core platforms. In healthcare, AI-driven systems are shortening drug development cycles, potentially saving millions of lives. Do you want to be the leader who capitalizes on these changes—or the one left wondering what went wrong?

Action: Step Into the Future

You have a choice: adapt or risk irrelevance. To stay ahead, organizations and individuals must act decisively:

1. Upskill and Reskill: Equip teams to collaborate with AI agents rather than fear them.
2. Implement Change Strategies: Follow proven frameworks like Kotter’s 8-step process to navigate the inevitable resistance.
3. Embrace AI Culture: Foster a mindset of human-machine collaboration, where creativity meets computation.

The stakes are high. AI agents aren’t just tools—they’re your new teammates, competitors, and even rivals. Miss the wave, and you risk being swept aside.

The Verdict: It’s Time to Decide

AI agents are set to become the most transformative technology of the decade. They offer boundless opportunity—but only for those bold enough to act. Are you ready to lead in this brave new world, or will you be left scrambling to catch up?

Having been fortunate enough to experience the last three major tech upheavals and eager to see what 2025 brings.

The future is watching. Make your move.