AGENTIC AI: THE NEXT FRONTIER IN BUSINESS AUTOMATION

/ By Gregory Williams, RVP South Africa /

Imagine your business processes not only running themselves but actively learning, adapting, and improving without constant human intervention. This is not science fiction – it is the promise of agentic AI, and it is closer than you might think.

While agentic AI is an emerging technology, it will be propelled by the foundations of robotic process automation (RPA) and AI.

Defining agentic AI

Agentic AI is the next step in the evolution of RPA, automation, and AI. It can be defined as AI systems capable of controlling and managing the flow of business processes with increasing levels of independence and intelligence.

Excitement about the potential of AI in the enterprise remains high. The problem is that there is a gap between the promise of AI and the reality of business outcomes being achieved through AI today. Aiming to bridge this gap, enterprises are seeking the operating model of the future to truly create a new way of working.

AI uses the basic building blocks of automation. With RPA, people create and maintain automations supported by an automation platform. As the evolution of human and AI collaboration evolves across business processes, Agentic AI will be capable of assuming higher levels of intelligence.

This new way of working goes beyond traditional automation, where humans create and maintain automations; it leverages AI agents that can learn, adapt, and even make decisions within certain limits.

Integrating RPA and agentic AI, also known as agentic process automation (APA), presents a future where automation encompasses both routine operational efficiencies and advanced cognitive functions, giving organizations the tools to transform both their workflows and decision-making processes. This approach not only increases the scope of automation but also enhances the ability of businesses to respond to complex and changing environments with greater agility.

The building blocks of agentic AI

Agentic AI does not emerge in isolation but complements and builds upon the foundation of RPA and other AI technologies that businesses may already be using. Companies’ current investments in automation are safe and will still be important parts of this new era of AI-driven processes.

For regular operations, expensive AI implementations may not be necessary. Enterprises will not need costly large language models (LLMs) to support lowervalue task automation. This approach ensures that businesses can costeffectively grow their AI capabilities.

Who can benefit from agentic AI?

Every industry can benefit, from financial services and healthcare as well as manufacturing and retail. In Africa, where businesses increasingly are using cuttingedge technology platforms to solve problems and be more competitive, agentic AI will be a substantial leap forward. From automating mundane tasks to navigating ambiguity and uncertainty, the synergy between RPA and Agentic AI has the ability to revolutionize the way businesses operate.

Small and medium businesses (SMEs) can also greatly benefit from agentic AI as well, by automating complex processes across various business units as is taking place within enterprises.

Implementing agentic AI in African businesses

For African companies looking to embrace agentic AI, here are some key considerations:

• Start with a clear plan: Look at your current processes and find areas where agentic AI could make the most difference.

• Build on existing automation: If you are already using RPA or other automation tools, you are in a great position to use agentic AI.

• Focus on data quality: Ensure your data infrastructure is robust and your data is clean and well-organized.

• Invest in skills development: Invest in training your workforce to work alongside and manage AI systems.

• Start small and scale: Begin with pilot projects in non-critical areas of your business.

What businesses should know

Agentic AI is exciting, but it is important to know what it can and cannot do.

• It is an evolution, not a revolution: Agentic AI builds on existing technologies. It is not about replacing current systems but improving them.

• Human oversight remains crucial: Human judgment and oversight remain essential, especially for critical decisions.

• Ethical considerations are important: Businesses must be careful about how AI decisions affect their values, data privacy, and possible biases in AI decision making.

• It is about augmentation, not replacement: Agentic AI is about improving human skills, not replacing them. It does this by helping employees focus on more important and creative tasks.

• Continuous learning is key: Both the AI systems and the people working with them will need to change and learn as the technology changes.

The future is both robotic and agentic

As we look ahead, we know that the businesses to succeed will be those that successfully combine human creativity with AI capabilities. Agentic AI is a big step forward in this integration. It gives African businesses new ways to think, compete, and grow in a world where everything is digital.

With many businesses already using AI, it is important to know that it is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Instead, it is a fabric that can create solutions that are specific to an organization’s entire operating model, and businesses will need to continue to tailor their AI implementations to their unique needs and challenges.

For African enterprises, from startups in Stellenbosch to established corporations in Johannesburg, agentic AI presents an opportunity to leapfrog traditional development stages. By embracing this technology, they can enhance efficiency, improve decision making, and deliver superior customer experiences. However, the key to success lies not just in adopting the technology, but in reimagining business processes with a human-AI collaborative approach at their core.