Most of us are used to AI as a helpful assistant. It writes what we ask it to, draws what we imagine, edits videos, summarizes PDFs, and makes our work faster. But it only does something when we tell it to. We still have to be the brains behind every task.
Now imagine if AI stopped waiting for instructions and started working like a smart intern who just gets what needs to be done. It understands your goals, plans a way forward, figures out what’s missing, makes decisions along the way, and keeps adjusting until the job is done. That’s what people mean when they talk about agentic AI. And it might just be the biggest leap forward we’ve seen in the world of artificial intelligence.
What Exactly Is Agentic AI?
The main idea behind agentic AI is its sense of independence. Instead of reacting to each individual prompt, it can take a high-level goal and figure out how to achieve it on its own. It can set tasks, choose the right tools, monitor progress, and even decide what to do next if something unexpected happens. It’s not just automation. It’s AI thinking and acting in a more human way.
From Task Assistant to Autonomous Creator
Let’s break it down with an example. Say you want to launch a podcast. With regular AI tools, you’d need to prompt ChatGPT to write scripts, use an AI voice to read it, ask another tool to edit it, design a cover with Midjourney, and post it yourself. You’re still doing most of the thinking.
Now imagine telling an agentic AI, “I want to launch a podcast about startup stories.” That’s it. The AI could do the research, plan the episode structure, write the script, record and edit the audio, generate a thumbnail, upload to Spotify, and even post highlights to your social media.
It’s not a future fantasy either. It’s already starting.
From Small Experiments to Independent Thinkers
Before AI agents became the big buzz, tools like AutoGPT and AgentGPT were already showing what was possible. These early systems are different from typical chatbots. They’re built to do more than just respond to commands. You can give them a goal like “write a blog and publish it” or “research a business idea,” and they figure out how to make it happen step by step.
Instead of needing constant input, they work more like a team member who can plan ahead. They break big goals into smaller parts, decide what to do first, and start tackling the tasks one by one. Since these tools are open source, developers and curious users around the world keep experimenting with them, tweaking how they work, and pushing their limits. AutoGPT and AgentGPT don’t always get things right, but they continue to open doors to new ways of thinking about what AI can do.
Devin Isn’t Just Smart. It Builds Things.
In 2024, a company called Cognition AI released something that truly shifted the conversation. They introduced Devin, a software engineer powered entirely by artificial intelligence.
Devin is not just a code generator. It’s an AI that can plan, design, write, and test full software products on its own. You can describe what you want, and Devin will build it from the ground up.
Let’s say you ask Devin to create a web app for scheduling gym workouts. It can decide which tech stack to use, write all the code, organize the database, and even spot errors during testing. If it runs into a bug, it can troubleshoot and fix it by itself without asking for help. It manages its time, thinks about priorities, and follows through until the task is complete. With Devin, it starts to feel like you're not just using a tool. You're working alongside a tireless developer who is focused on getting the job done right.
Rabbit R1 Brings AI Into Your Pocket
While most AI tools live inside your browser or a cloud server, Rabbit R1 decided to become something you can actually hold. This compact orange device looks like a cross between a gadget and a minimalist phone, but its real strength lies in how it thinks. Released in 2024, Rabbit R1 works by connecting directly with the apps you use every day.
You can speak to it naturally, and it understands what you want to get done. Whether it’s playing music, booking rides, or ordering dinner, Rabbit R1 accesses your accounts, understands your routines, and handles everything without needing you to touch your phone. It’s designed for people who want a more seamless digital life. Instead of tapping through ten different apps, Rabbit lets you just say what you need and handles the rest. It’s a step closer to a world where AI becomes more invisible and more helpful at the same time.
The Corporate World Is Already Onboard
These examples might sound niche or experimental, but they’re part of a much larger shift. In its 2025 Technology Trends Outlook, McKinsey identified agentic AI as a rapidly emerging focus in enterprise and consumer tech.
What It Looks Like in the Real World
Big companies aren’t just playing around with agentic AI. They’re making it a core part of how they work.
Walmart is a great example. Instead of using dozens of separate tools, they have created four central AI agents that take care of everything. One agent helps customers shop. Another one supports store employees. A third one manages relationships with suppliers. And the last one helps their own engineers build new tools. These agents do things like plan events based on what you already have in your fridge or let team leaders schedule shifts in minutes instead of hours. Walmart believes this technology will help them double their online revenue and they are already seeing major improvements in speed and efficiency.
Enterprise AI Agents Are Changing Work Itself
It’s not just retail. Companies across all industries are starting to rely on agentic AI to change how they operate every day. Salesforce has introduced something called Agentforce.
Thousands of businesses now use it to handle tasks like customer support, branding, and marketing. These AI agents are trained to understand goals and carry them out with little human help. In real-world trials, they were able to solve customer issues with an accuracy rate of over ninety percent. Company leaders are noticing the results. Seventy eight percent of executives say they already use AI agents in some part of their business. That number is expected to triple within the next two years.
So what does this mean for people like us?
It changes how we work, create, and even think about our time. Imagine telling your AI assistant something like “help me launch a side hustle this month” or “plan a trip to Japan under a certain budget and make all the bookings.” Instead of juggling dozens of tools and tasks, you’d have one system that connects the dots and gets the job done.
This kind of shift has real economic value too. Goldman Sachs estimated in 2023 that AI could boost global GDP by 7 percent over the next decade, with much of that growth coming from automation of knowledge work.
But beyond the numbers, the biggest impact might be how it changes our mindset. We’re used to managing every detail, watching over our projects like helicopter parents. Agentic AI encourages us to think in outcomes instead of tasks. It invites us to ask bigger questions. What do I want to build? What kind of brand do I want to launch? What stories do I want to tell? And then it takes on the heavy lifting to help bring those answers to life.
Of course, there are still challenges. These systems need better memory, stronger decision-making models, and a much deeper understanding of nuance. They also raise ethical questions about responsibility. If an AI makes a mistake or takes a wrong turn while acting on your behalf, who’s really accountable?
But the potential is impossible to ignore. Just like we once went from search engines to smart assistants, we’re now moving from tools that react to tools that act. Agentic AI won’t replace humans. It’s here to support us, collaborate with us, and help us get further with less burnout.
We’re standing at the start of something massive. And we’re not just using technology anymore. We’re teaming up with it.
