Agentic AI explained
Agentic artificial intelligence (AI) can be characterized as a form of AI that can function autonomously, making choices and actions without the need for human intervention.
Agentic AI is different from AI chatbots, which leverage generative AI (GenAI) to produce replies based on a single interaction, such as when an end user inputs a query and the chatbot leverages natural language processing to respond. Agentic AI leverages machine learning (ML) and reinforcement learning (RL) to quickly solve complex, often multi-step problems. It demonstrates sophisticated reasoning and iterative planning and the capacity to flexibly learn, problem-solve, and adapt to changing environments.
In the article, Agentic AI: The Next Frontier of AI Power, Dr. Phong Nguyen writes that agentic AI “may be a more powerful phenomenon [than generative AI]”1 and that it “[could be] stage three of [the] five stages in the development of AI”.1 Dr. Nguyen states that while GenAI has produced a dynamic shift in how we create, Agentic AI may cause the next big change due to “its ability to automate complex processing tasks via the ability of multiple agents to autonomously learn, adapt, and make decisions to accelerate and automate decision-making and problem-solving”.1