In this episode of the AI Applied podcast, Jaeden Schafer and Conor engage with Jared Spataro, Chief Marketing Officer at Microsoft, discussing the transformative impact of AI on work.
They explore the concept of an AI native mindset, the role of Copilot and autonomous agents in enhancing productivity, and address concerns about job security in the age of AI.
Jared shares success stories from various industries, highlighting how AI is not just a tool but a catalyst for new opportunities and efficiencies in business processes.
Ai at Work
In this article ‘AI at Work: What Are AI Agents, and How Do They Help Businesses’, Jared introduces the idea of ‘AI Agents’, defining them as central this mission of building an AI Native organization. He says:
“They’re a hot topic for good reason: just as every employee will have an AI assistant like Copilot, every business process will soon be transformed by agents.”
He explains the difference between AI Copilots and Agents, where the former is a support assistant for staff, intelligently performing information tasks on their behalf, whereas agents execute business processes. Agents can be taught new skills, like the ability to send emails, create support tickets, or update records. You can teach them to react to events or triggers, such as an email from a customer.
AI agents, on the other hand, are able to execute business processes. They can range from simple prompt-and-response agents to more advanced, fully autonomous agents that can execute an entire workflow from start to finish. Agents can think or reason, remember, be trained, and even know when to ask for help.
Jared anticipates a future where organizations have entire constellations of agents: In sales they’ll research leads, help prioritize opportunities, and guide customer outreach with personalized emails and responses. In the supply chain they’ll minimize disruptions by autonomously tracking supplier performance, detecting delays, and recommending adjustments on the fly.
