What Is Agentic AI, and How Does It Work?
Agentic artificial intelligence (AI) uses AI agents, or autonomous software programs, to complete everyday tasks, freeing up leaders and teams to prioritize strategic work. It's one of the newest advancements in workplace technology, following the large-scale introduction of generative AI in 2022.
Learn more about agentic AI in our expert Q&A below with Naomi Lariviere, vice president and chief product owner, ADP, and Helena Almeida, vice president and AI legal officer, ADP.
What is agentic AI, and how does it work?
NL: Agentic AI is another tool in your AI toolkit. When people talk about agentic AI, what they're talking about is AI's ability to think, plan and act.
How does agentic AI differ from generative AI?
NL: Agentic AI is an evolution of generative AI. It thinks, plans and acts instead of just generating content.
You shouldn't need to know there's an agent there. It should be natural in the flow of the work, mostly behind the scenes making your experience smarter so you can get your job done faster.
Tell us more about how agentic AI should be natural in the flow of work.
HA: Personally, I want to be aware that AI is present in a tool, and be aware at a high level of what data it is using, but ultimately have it fade away and become seamless as I work. I don't want to think too much about whether something is or is not agentic AI. This natural flow is something we should focus on as we're developing AI solutions.
What impact do humans have on agentic AI?
HA: When you're talking about an agent that can do tasks for you, there's still a role for humans. We think about where in the sequence of tasks the human fits in and how to ensure the human is ultimately making the key decisions. Again, agentic AI is technology, so you want it to mostly fade into the background and help you — the human — do your job faster and easier.
How does agentic AI benefit payroll?
NL: When you're processing payroll, you have to think about all the steps you need to accomplish, then you need a plan for what steps you'll do first, then you have to act on that plan. You can get agentic AI to do all those things if you train it correctly.
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ADP's Naomi Lariviere and Helena Almeida discuss how these AI agents may improve the employee experience.
