AI agents are shaping up to be the big trend of 2025. While many companies are launching their versions of AI agents, we’ve taken a step back to explore how these tools work—and how they can add real value across different useful case studies.
AI agent: Definition
An AI agent is a program capable of making decisions and executing tasks independently. It uses artificial intelligence to analyze data, learn from experience, and interact with humans or systems. In business, AI agents support process automation, elevate customer service, and enhance decision-making capabilities.
According to Grand View Research, the global AI agent market will reach $70.5 billion by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate of 45%. This growth underscores the vast potential of AI agents.
AI agents vs. AI assistants
AI agents are different from AI assistants. Assistants are reactive and perform tasks per your requests. AI agents take action by themselves and remind virtual colleagues trained to think and operate autonomously.
Brief history and evolution of agentic AI
The concept of AI agents isn’t new. In the 1950s, Arthur Samuel developed one of the first self-learning programs—a checkers-playing AI. By the 1960s and '70s, tools like Eliza and DENDRAL introduced conversational and expert systems.
Momentum slowed during the so-called "AI winter" due to limited processing power. But by the 1980s and '90s, machine learning and improved computing power reignited innovation. IBM's Deep Blue beating chess champion Garry Kasparov in 1996 marked a turning point.
More recently, large language models (LLMs) have enabled machines to understand and respond to natural human language. GPT-2, released in 2022, had an estimated IQ of 120. GPT-4, released in 2025, scored 152 on a Verbal-Linguistic IQ test—placing it among the top 0.1% of test-takers globally.
Still, AI’s cognitive limits are clear. While agents excel at data analysis, they struggle with calculus and lack proper contextual understanding. Nevertheless, their practical applications are expanding rapidly.
How AI agents work
Without delving into technical jargon, here’s a simplified breakdown of how AI agents operate:
Perception
Agents gather and interpret real-time data from their surroundings—such as user behavior on your platform.
Imagine an AI agent connected to your marketing website. It constantly watches how visitors move around the site, what pages they look at, and how long they stay on each page.
For sales, an AI agent could monitor incoming email inquiries, noting the keywords used and the urgency implied.
Reasoning
Using its "brain," the AI agent analyzes this information to understand what's going on and what might need to happen next.
For example, if it notices many visitors are dropping off on a specific product page, it might "think," "This page might have confusing information or a broken link."
If an email contains words like "urgent" and "quote," the agent might prioritize it for immediate follow-up.
Action
Based on its understanding, the AI agent can then perform tasks or suggest actions. For instance, it could automatically trigger an A/B test on the underperforming product page by changing the headline or button. Or send a personalized introductory email with relevant product information to the high-priority lead.
This cycle repeats continually as agents can self-optimize through constant learning. Many now incorporate search-augmented generation (RAG) to pull in real-time information from the web, improving accuracy and relevance.
If you’re interested in AI automation, visit our blog to learn how you can connect AI with favorite tools like HubSpot, Mailchimp, and Google Sheets via Albato.
Types of AI agents
Experts categorize AI agents by autonomy levels:
- L1. Basic assistants (e.g., ChatGPT, Gemini). Current AI systems like ChatGPT by OpenAI and Gemini by Google are capable of responding to user queries but require human oversight.
- L2–L3. Semi-autonomous agents (e.g., OpenAI’s Operator). The recently introduced OpenAI AI agent, Operator, is classified as L2 crossing into L3. Developers claim that it can execute tasks on the web and make independent decisions. However, human supervision is still required.
- L4–L5. Future fully autonomous agents (theoretical as of now). As AI technology advances, we might see higher levels of autonomy.
Some experts predict that by 2033, we might have AI that is completely self-sufficient.
When foundation models cracked the natural language barrier, they kickstarted a shift in our technology systems: how we design them, use them, and how they operate. ― Accenture CTO Karthik Narain
A recent paper by Accenture suggests that by 2030, it will be agents and not people who will be the main users of most enterprises' internal digital systems.
AI agent case studies
Here are some agentic AI case studies across different countries and industries.
Content: Chatsonic
Writesonic offers an AI agent called Chatsonic that goes beyond typical chatbots by integrating real-time data and aiming to assist with various business tasks, particularly in marketing. Unlike chatbots that often rely on pre-programmed responses and limited databases, Chatsonic can access up-to-date information, similar to having a constantly informed assistant.
For marketing teams, Chatsonic can help with tasks like brainstorming content ideas based on current trends, drafting marketing copy, and even conducting basic SEO research by pulling live data.
Education: Squirrel AI Learning
China’s Squirrel AI Learning operates an AI-driven tutoring platform that acts as a virtual teacher for students with minimal human guidance. Deployed in over 2,000 learning centers across 200 cities, Squirrel AI’s system provides individualized lessons in subjects like math, English, and physics.
The AI agent can assess each student’s knowledge and skill gaps through quizzes and interactions. It can also dynamically adjust the curriculum and exercises to the student’s level.
This agent essentially makes many teaching decisions a human tutor would make – identifying errors, giving hints, and selecting new problems – but does so automatically for each learner. Human teachers supervise multiple sessions remotely and step in only if additional help is needed.
Marketing and sales: Agentforce
Salesforce offers Agentforce as a platform for building and deploying autonomous AI agents. These agents are designed to be more independent than typical AI copilots, capable of making decisions and taking actions based on their understanding of tasks and available data.
For sales teams, Agentforce could enable AI agents to autonomously qualify leads, answer detailed product inquiries, and even schedule meetings, freeing up sales representatives for more strategic engagements.
In marketing, agents could manage campaign responses, personalize customer interactions across different channels, and potentially even adjust campaign parameters based on real-time performance data.
Music: Endel for music generation
In the music industry, an AI called Endel has been signed by Warner Music and Universal Music Group to create ambient music albums. Amazon also partnered with Endel to create personalized music for the Alexa users. Endel is essentially an algorithm (packaged as a mood music app) that generates personalized soundscapes for relaxation, focus, and sleep.
Using inputs like time of day, weather, heart rate, or user preference, the AI decides in real-time what tones and rhythms to play, with no two sessions exactly alike.
Endel’s autonomous music agent demonstrates how entertainment companies can leverage AI to create new content with little human input continuously.
Customer Service: Intercom AI agent
Intercom offers an AI agent named Fin designed to automate customer support interactions with human-like capabilities. Unlike traditional chatbots, Fin can handle entire customer conversations from start to finish, providing instant and accurate responses by leveraging a company's existing knowledge base. This reduces the workload on human support agents, allowing them to focus on more complex or novel issues.
Fin integrates seamlessly with Intercom's customer service platform, working across various channels such as live chat, email, and social media. It continuously learns from interactions and the available knowledge, improving its accuracy and efficiency over time.
Retail: Ocado’s robot-run fulfillment centers
Ocado, a UK online grocer, runs giant fulfillment centers orchestrated by swarms of robots. Instead of static shelves, groceries are stored in stacked bins within a vast grid (“hive”) the size of several football fields.
Thousands of robots roam atop the grid like chess pieces, each moving along tracks to lift and carry bins of products as needed. The system’s AI coordinates the robots in real time to fulfill orders – robots collaborate in swarm-like fashion, allowing Ocado to pick a 50-item grocery order in just a few minutes.
Human involvement is minimal: workers only intervene at picking stations or for maintenance, while the AI optimizes robot routes and bin layouts on the fly. This high level of autonomy has enabled Ocado to scale up orders rapidly and operate with very low error rates.
Healthcare: Mercy Hospital Jefferson
Mercy Hospital Jefferson in Missouri employs 3-foot-tall autonomous robots to handle routine hospital logistics. These mobile robots independently deliver meals to patient units, ferry medications from the pharmacy, haul loads of laundry, and even tow trash to dumpsters.
They navigate hallways and elevators on their own, using pre-mapped routes and sensors, with the company remotely monitoring their operation. By taking over these mundane tasks, the robots free up nurses and support staff to spend more time on patient care.
Summing up
These AI agent use cases illustrate how businesses leverage AI to automate tasks and boost efficiency. While AI can’t replace human insight, it’s invaluable for repetitive, time-consuming functions.
At Albato, we’re passionate about pairing smart automation with human creativity. Our platform connects over 800 apps to AI tools, helping you to work smarter and get more things done.
Read more:
