AI agents are rapidly automating business processes. How should businesses go about it?
| From the desk of Miles Everson: Hello! I’m thrilled to talk about another insight in the world of business for today’s edition of “Return Driven Strategy (RDS).” For those of you who are not yet familiar with it, RDS is a pyramid-shaped framework with 11 tenets and 3 foundations. When applied properly, these principles help businesses deliver high levels of performance. Today, we’re going to talk about agentic AI and why companies are adopting it rapidly. Curious? Keep reading below. |
AI agents are rapidly automating business processes. How should businesses go about it? Artificial intelligence (AI) adoption has continued to gain momentum even as companies grapple with its costs. As revealed in McKinsey ’s “The State of AI in 2025” survey, 89% of organizations are using AI in one or more business functions. While it’s common to associate AI adoption with the use of AI chatbots, there’s another form of AI that’s getting attention. Its name? Agentic AI. This isn’t your typical AI model. The AI models commonly used today require human oversight and come with constraints. In simple words, these models don’t possess autonomy and cannot operate on their own. On the other hand, Agentic AI does what traditional models cannot do. These systems are made up of AI agents that work on specific subtasks to accomplish complex goals. Simply said, AI agents possess a certain degree of autonomy and can function independently of human intervention while still operating within a specific limitation or guideline. Another important characteristic of AI agents is that these are able to learn from experiences and adjust how they function accordingly. Given these functionalities, AI agents are gaining widespread adoption. According to estimates as of early 2026, 41% of companies are already using them in daily operations.
There’s a problem, though: What if there are more AI agents than humans? What happens then? How can companies adapt? The risk of AI agents outnumbering humans is clear: Monitoring becomes a bottleneck. Without sufficient human oversight, scale creates vulnerability. This setup might work for an e-commerce company or even a retailer who operates 24/7 and has so many processes… but what if something more important was on the line? LaShonda Anderson-Williams, the Chief Customer and Commercial Officer of Salesforce, provided an example: “In high-stakes environments like health care, it’s not taking the wrong tee-shirt size if you’re a retailer, it’s a life on the other side of it.” In other words, using AI agents comes with its own set of problems, and in some cases, when something does go wrong, the effects can be detrimental. So, what is to be done? Anthony Moisant, the Chief Information and Security Officer of jobs platform Indeed, pointed to the use of constant testing to see if AI agents are performing and accomplishing desired outcomes. Moisant’s suggestion points to an inevitable answer: Governance on how AI agents should be used. In other words, companies that use this technology should create processes that enable them to utilize AI agents safely and effectively. Mapping and Redesigning Processes This also brings us to the 8th tenet of RDS—Map and Redesign Processes. According to Professor Joel Litman and Dr. Mark L. Frigo in the book, “Driven” : “Management should not wait for a problem to arise before adequately mapping it. The map changes the entire platform for better planning and improving the business.” RDS’ 8th tenet is relevant to the emergence of AI in general and AI agents in particular. With advancements in AI proceeding at breakneck speeds, the need for remapping a business’ functions and processes to accommodate and leverage those changes are important. If AI systems are adopted without proper guardrails and business processes aren’t remapped, a lot of things can go wrong for a business. That said, what are some of the steps that businesses can take to make full use of AI models and agents?
Navigating An AI-enabled Business Landscape The shift to an AI-powered organization is inevitable. AI is moving fast, turning tasks that once took hours of human effort into work that's automated in part, if not entirely. The result? A tech-powered force multiplier for every company and employee. Unfortunately, this comes with a catch. Agentic AI demands careful, deliberate adoption. That’s exactly why revisiting and remapping business processes matters now more than ever. — If you’re looking to gain a better understanding of Return Driven Strategy and Career Driven Strategy, we highly recommend checking out “Driven” by Professor Litman and Dr. Frigo. Click here to get your copy and learn how this framework can help you in your business strategies and ultimately, in ethically maximizing wealth for your firm. Hope you found this week’s insights interesting and helpful. Stay tuned for next Tuesday’s Return Driven Strategy! Imagine walking into your local grocery store a couple of decades ago… Learn more about Chobani in next week’s article! |
Miles Everson
CEO of MBO Partners and former Global Advisory and Consulting CEO at PwC, Everson has worked with many of the world's largest and most prominent organizations, specializing in executive management. He helps companies balance growth, reduce risk, maximize return, and excel in strategic business priorities.
He is a sought-after public speaker and contributor and has been a case study for success from Harvard Business School.
Everson is a Certified Public Accountant, a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and Minnesota Society of Certified Public Accountants. He graduated from St. Cloud State University with a B.S. in Accounting.
