Gartner named AI agents as one of the tech trends for 2025. If many companies use or experiment with them in the future, it seems like nefarious news for employees. Is that fear justified?
Artificial intelligence has already been successfully introduced in many companies. Employees typically experience an increase in productivity and have more time in a workday. Newer are AI agents; fully autonomous assistants that can take over everyday tasks from employees. Large technology companies are already experimenting with them today, and it is only a matter of time before SMEs will follow.
AI agents differ from other AI tools in that they take actions independently to achieve specific goals, without the need for human input.
Will AI replace us completely?
For employers, those tools sound great. At IT companies, systems no longer need to be monitored, as AI agents take care of that. “80 percent of my job can be automated. Cool! But if you can automate 80 percent of your job, what does the boss think?” says Andreas Van Puyenbroeck, Category Manager and AI Ambassador for North-West Europe at HP.
“Introducing AI tools into companies works best if you show employees, ‘What’s in it for you.’ There’s little point in handing out a license without sessions on its use and benefits,” he continues. As a company, it’s important that you give enough context to your employees and explain what impact it will have on their job.
This can be done through training, change management, workshops and building trust in your employees. They need to learn to embrace AI, not ignore it so they get passed over. Van Puyenbroeck explains: “The capabilities of AI agents are fantastic. But in the short term, for many people, this is a terrifying technology with a very immediate impact.”
A well-founded fear?
“Is the fear well-founded to assume that AI is going to replace us all? Yes and no,” says Van Puyenbroeck. “The way your company works could be obsolete in a few years if you don’t jump on the bandwagon now. Standing still is going backwards.” However, AI is never going to be able to completely replace every job, but it is going to fundamentally change the way people work.
A realistic scenario is for AI-Agents to play a supporting role rather than replace humans. “Today AI is already a fantastic tool, but the mindset of employees has to change from fear to acceptance. They have to learn to use those tools.”
“Employers and employees must realize that AI will be an integral part of future workplaces. By adapting their mindset, they can grow with it and allow their role to evolve,” Van Puyenbroeck concludes.