Until now, AI mostly gave answers. The next step goes further: AI that does things on its own. Searching, comparing, planning and even acting on the user’s behalf. These systems are called AI agents, and they are rapidly becoming a new link between customer and business.
What is an AI agent?
An AI agent is a system that pursues a goal independently by carrying out multiple steps. Instead of answering a question, it can take on a task, gather information, weigh options and take action, often without the user having to steer every step.
How does this change the rules?
If an AI agent searches for and selects a service provider on the customer’s behalf, then that agent is your new audience. It is no longer the human choosing from ten results, but the agent making a shortlist or even a final choice. If the agent does not recognise you as a suitable option, you do not reach the customer.
An example
Say an AI agent is given the task: find and approach three suitable painting companies in The Hague for a quote. The agent searches the web, assesses companies on relevance and reliability and makes a selection. Only the companies that are recognisable, findable and trustworthy to the agent are considered.
What does this mean for you?
The rise of AI agents makes everything we discuss even more urgent. Clear structure, strong entity recognition, trustworthy information and positive sentiment determine whether an agent takes you along. Being prepared for AI agents means being prepared for a world in which software, not the human, makes the first choice.
