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What is Agentic AI and Why is Everybody Talking About It?

Virtuoso QA

Guest Author

Published on

December 17, 2024

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Ever heard of Agentic AI? Discover how this groundbreaking new technology is set to transform industries with its human-like capabilities.

The third wave of AI is here. While Generative AI (GenAI) and machine learning were all anyone could talk about a few years ago, there’s a new kid on the block: Agentic AI. Forbes has called it a ‘breakthrough for business and tech,’ while IBM describes it as ‘the next big thing in AI research.’ This new technology is undoubtedly causing a stir.

But what is Agentic AI, and why is it creating such a buzz in the tech world? Let’s dive in.

What is Agentic AI?

While every new tech advancement generates its fair share of hype, Agentic AI is being hailed as the third wave of AI technology. By now, we are all very well-acquainted with AI; it’s part of our everyday interactions with technology.

From ChatGPT helping draft emails in offices around the world to businesses leveraging AI tech to increase efficiency, we have all witnessed an AI revolution that now seems second nature.

Agentic AI can execute complex tasks and workflows unlike any AI before it. It uses AI agents and harnesses the power of other AI technologies, such as generative AI and Machine Learning, to execute intricate tasks. These agents can complete complex tasks autonomously and adapt their behavior over time, continuously learning and solving problems independently.

What Makes Agentic AI Different?

Unlike its predecessors, this type of AI can act autonomously with very little human input. It can “‘think’ for itself,” so to speak.

This third wave of artificial intelligence can adapt, learn, and optimize its processes in real time without needing explicit instructions at every step. It will enable humans to interact with AI to execute incredibly complex tasks through ever simpler user interfaces and natural language instructions.

But doesn’t AI already do this? Not quite. Agentic AI is different because it has, well, agency. This ability to adapt to new tasks and make complex decisions based on real-time reasoning allows it to act almost like a human employee.

Machine learning and generative AI rely on pre-programmed data to identify patterns, complete tasks, or draw conclusions. Agentic AI’s autonomy is what sets it apart and makes it so exciting. Agentic AI can perform tasks using GenAI and ML as tools, just like a person, and deploy them to help it perform tasks that require continuous adjustments and reasoning.

To put that into context, GenAI is able to suggest places for your next getaway based on your preferences. But an Agentic AI agent goes a step further. It can plan your trip and then book it, making decisions on your behalf. This is the essential difference.

So now you know the answer to what agentic AI is, why has it got everybody talking?

Why is Everyone Talking About It?

Agentic AI’s human-like autonomy represents a paradigm shift for artificial intelligence, one that will impact just about every industry worldwide. The rapid evolution of AI has captivated the world.

Bill Gates has already predicted that in the future, we will all have an AI agent to help us work, and completely reimagine the way we live our lives. While the old debate about AI replacing humans resurfaces with each advancement, Agentic AI is likely to spark new discussions on the ethics of human intelligence versus machines as it becomes ever smarter, more autonomous, and more widely used.

But don’t run for the hills just yet.

Agentic AI integration is poised to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and make work life a lot easier with more time spent on creativity and innovation. At Virtuoso QA, we are particularly excited about how Agentic AI will further transform software testing.

AI has already made software testing faster, easier, and able to run tests at unprecedented scale. Now with its decision-making capabilities, Agentic AI can automate testing processes more efficiently than ever before, reducing errors and speeding up development cycles.

An infographic on six top things one should know about Agentic AI

What Lies Ahead

Agentic AI will make processes faster, smarter, and more efficient, with the power to unlock industry potential almost overnight. As AI adoption continues to grow, this new era is accelerating the pace of innovation.

The future of AI will likely involve even deeper integration with human intelligence, enabling collaborative workflows where humans and AI work side by side. Far from being the stuff of science fiction, this type of autonomous, intuitive AI is now a firm reality, and its impact is only just beginning.

Take exploratory testing, for example - a software testing task that, until now, couldn’t be executed by AI. This is because there are no defined rules for this type of testing. It requires human curiosity and adaptability to investigate a software system and test it for bugs or other weaknesses that an AI needs to be programmed in order to think of. In theory, Agentic AI agents could handle such tasks with minimal human oversight.

AI is evolving fast. So, if Agentic AI represents the third wave, the question becomes: what will be the fourth? While we can’t predict that yet, one thing is certain: this technology is fundamentally changing the way we use artificial intelligence.

At Virtuoso QA, we’re closer than ever to implementing Agentic AI into our platform. Take the time, stress, and cost out of software testing with faster time to market and a proven ROI for businesses.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is Agentic AI different from generative AI?

Generative AI produces content such as text, images, or suggestions based on patterns in its training data, and a human acts on the output. Agentic AI goes a step further by using tools like generative AI and machine learning to actually execute tasks, make decisions, and adapt in real time. A simple way to see it: generative AI can suggest a holiday destination, while agentic AI can plan the trip and book it.

How is Agentic AI different from AI agents?

The terms are closely related and often used together. An AI agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes action towards a goal, while agentic AI describes the broader capability and approach that gives such systems their autonomy and reasoning. In practice, agentic AI is the technology, and AI agents are the autonomous units that put it to work.

What can Agentic AI do that earlier AI could not?

Earlier AI waves needed a human to act on their output, whereas agentic AI can carry out multi-step tasks on its own, adjusting its approach as conditions change. It can plan a sequence of actions, use other AI tools along the way, handle tasks that require continuous reasoning, and learn from outcomes to improve over time, all with minimal human input.

Will Agentic AI replace human jobs?

The more likely near-term outcome is collaboration rather than replacement. Agentic AI is positioned to take on repetitive, time-consuming work so people can spend more time on creativity, judgement, and innovation. As with previous waves of automation, the technology tends to shift the nature of work towards higher-value tasks rather than removing the human entirely.

How does Agentic AI apply to software testing?

Software testing is one of the clearest applications, because much of it involves repetitive, rules-based work that benefits from autonomy. Agentic AI can plan, execute, and adapt tests with minimal human oversight, reducing errors and speeding up development cycles. It even opens the door to tasks that resisted automation before, such as exploratory testing, where an agent can investigate an application for weaknesses the way a human tester would.

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