In the latest episode of ExpeditionFinance - Deutsche Bank, Jürgen Schmitt talks to Deepak Arora, SVP and Executive Client Partner – Strategic Accounts at HCLTech, on how Agentic AI will dramatically change the way humans work.
In this conversation, Deepak dives into the concept of Agentic AI, explaining how it differs from traditional AI systems and how it’s poised to revolutionize industries. He also discusses its real-world applications and potential to reshape business operations.
What is Agentic AI?
At its core, Deepak refers to Agentic AI as a fully autonomous system designed to solve complex problems with minimal human input.
This type of AI marks a significant shift from traditional, role-based automation to a dynamic, context-driven approach that can adapt to various situations and make decisions based on real-time data.
Is Agentic AI a friend or foe?
A common question surrounding Agentic AI is whether it will work for us or against us. While AI is often seen as either a threat or a savior, Agentic AI is designed to collaborate with humans rather than replace them.
“The LLM models are as good as the data which we feed it. Agentic AI has the power of really automating manual processes and helping humans in making the right decision so that we as human can focus on creating business value,” said Deepak.
He added, “Agentic AI is there to automate the manual processes. It is there to help the decision-making processes. In the end, the decisions will still be made by humans in the foreseeable future. However, where Agentic AI is really helping you is it is taking care of all the manual tasks so that humans can focus on delivering business value.”
In other words, while Agentic AI will take over repetitive, time-consuming tasks, it will allow human workers to focus on higher-value activities that require critical thinking and creativity.
This means that while Agentic AI can automate decision-making and reduce manual tasks, its purpose is to enhance human productivity and creativity, not to replace human workers entirely.
Real-world applications of Agentic AI
Agentic AI is not just a concept — it’s already being applied in various industries, particularly in financial services. Deepak highlighted several key use cases, including wealth management, investment banking, KYC (Know Your Customer) processes and risk management.
“Agentic AI is now doing perpetual KYC, really working on doing real-time customer verification. You look at wealth management, Agentic AI is helping in creating tailor-made wealth solutions for customers where they can understand the risk profile of a customer, understand their investment appetite and also understand your socioeconomic background to give you the solutions which you would love to invest into,” said Deepak.
These examples show how Agentic AI can transform industries by automating complex tasks like customer verification and creating personalized solutions for clients, all with minimal human intervention.
How does Agentic AI make decisions?
The decision-making process behind Agentic AI is sophisticated and involves collaboration between multiple models, or "agents," that work together to generate optimal solutions.
Describing the process, Deepak said: “The Agentic AI underneath the wealth management advisory is talking to various models or agents. It’s talking to the sentiment analysis model. It’s talking to the risk analysis model. It’s also talking to the model to understand customer personas better. This helps then the Agentic AI to create the tailor-made solution for you.”
By integrating insights from various agents, Agentic AI can offer highly personalized, context-aware solutions that would be difficult to achieve with a single model.
The future of Agentic AI
The possibilities of Agentic AI are vast and as the technology continues to evolve, its applications will expand into more industries, further enhancing productivity, decision-making and business value. Deepak suggested that the future of Agentic AI is one of collaboration, where AI serves as a tool to augment human capabilities rather than replace them entirely: “At your service,” he said.
As Agentic AI becomes more advanced, it has the potential to revolutionize the way we work, enabling businesses to operate more efficiently and effectively, while also allowing humans to focus on tasks that add greater value.
In summary, Agentic AI represents a significant advancement in artificial intelligence, one that promises to reshape industries and the way we approach decision-making. While it’s still in its early stages, its potential is clear. As AI continues to evolve, it’s likely that we’ll see even more groundbreaking applications that will enhance business operations and make our work lives more efficient.
