What is Agentic AI?
Agentic AI refers to artificial intelligence systems designed to operate autonomously, making decisions and taking actions to achieve specific goals without constant human oversight. Unlike traditional AI that responds to prompts, agentic AI can plan, execute multi-step tasks, use external tools, and adapt to changing circumstances.
Key Characteristics
- Autonomy: Can operate independently once given a goal
- Tool Use: Ability to interact with external systems, APIs, and databases
- Planning: Can break down complex tasks into steps
- Persistence: Maintains context and state across interactions
- Self-Correction: Can identify and fix errors in its approach
Examples in Practice
- AI coding assistants that can write, test, and debug code
- Customer service agents that resolve issues end-to-end
- Research agents that gather, analyze, and synthesize information
- Workflow automation agents in enterprise systems
Security Considerations
Agentic AI introduces new security challenges including permission management, action auditing, and ensuring AI agents don't exceed their authorized scope of operations.