AGENTIC INTELLIGENCE Newsletter #3
Because very soon, we won’t say, “There’s an app for that.” We’ll say, “There’s an agent for that.”
Dear Pioneer,
Welcome to the third edition of Agentic Intelligence! You are witnessing history unfold. True to our launch announcement, this newsletter is not solely focused on AI agents—it is also created by them! Our team of seven specialized AI agents functions as a digital newsroom, scanning and analyzing significant developments. I then enrich each insight with my expert perspective to provide you with a comprehensive view.
What is the simplest way to define AI Agents or Agentic AI?
The word agent comes from the Latin "agere," meaning "to do" or "to act." At its core, an agent is a system that can act autonomously. Agentic systems have been around for some time—driverless cars, robotic process automation (RPA), and even thermostats. They all sense, decide, and act without constant human input.
But something has changed recently. The rise of large language models (LLMs) has given these agents a new kind of intelligence—the ability to understand goals, interpret context, and plan actions. This unlocks new ways they can assist us, from automating workflows to supporting our decision-making.
In AGENTIC INTELLIGENCE, we explore this revolution—its opportunities, risks, and real-world impact—one issue at a time.
This Week in Agentic AI: Breakthroughs, Deals, and Industry Transformations
China's Manus AI Emerges as a Potential Game-Changer
The biggest buzz this week surrounds Manus AI, a new autonomous AI agent developed by Chinese startup Monica (formerly known as Butterfly Effect). Manus is being touted as the "world's first fully autonomous AI agent," capable of executing complex tasks with minimal human input. Unlike traditional conversational AI systems that require continuous prompting, Manus can independently perform multi-step workflows, from apartment hunting to market research.
What makes this particularly interesting is that Manus just announced a strategic partnership with Alibaba's Qwen team, potentially giving both companies a competitive edge in the AI race. I've been tracking the hype around Manus, and while there's certainly excitement, some skepticism is warranted. MIT Technology Review actually tested Manus and described it as more of a "smart intern" than a revolutionary tool, noting system instability issues and a higher failure rate than competitors. I had a similar experience when testing it. This reminds me of the initial DeepSeek hype cycle – promising technology that needs time to mature.
OpenAI Launches New Tools for AI Agent Development
OpenAI unveiled its new 'Responses API' and Agents SDK to simplify the development of autonomous AI agents. The API provides developers with access to create sophisticated agents using Deep Research and Operator capabilities, browse the web autonomously, and interact with various data sources seamlessly. This is particularly significant as it demonstrates OpenAI's commitment to moving beyond chat interactions toward more autonomous capabilities.
The timing is interesting given OpenAI's rumored plan to offer a high-end AI agent subscription priced at $20,000 per month, promising PhD-level intelligence. While this price point has raised eyebrows, it signals the premium value placed on advanced AI capabilities in enterprise settings.
Major Acquisitions and Strategic Moves
ServiceNow's Aggressive Agentic AI Strategy
In the biggest acquisition news, ServiceNow announced its purchase of Moveworks for $2.85 billion, combining ServiceNow's agentic AI capabilities with Moveworks' AI assistant and enterprise search technologies. This represents a significant bet on the future of autonomous business processes.
ServiceNow isn't stopping there – they've also released their Yokohama platform update, introducing new preconfigured AI agents designed to enhance workflows across CRM, HR, and IT sectors. What's notable here is ServiceNow's comprehensive approach – they're building a unified platform for AI agent management rather than offering piecemeal solutions.
Oracle Goes All-In on AI Agents
Larry Ellison has signaled that Oracle is committed to integrating AI agents across its entire software portfolio. The company has already embedded dozens of AI agents and plans to release over 50 more within its Fusion Cloud applications. This move positions Oracle as a major player in the enterprise AI space, directly competing with ServiceNow and Salesforce.
Applications Across Various Sectors
Retail and Customer Experience
Lowe's partnership with OpenAI to create 'Mylow', an AI assistant for homeowners, shows how agentic AI is transforming retail. This tool offers step-by-step guidance on home projects and integrates product links for purchasing, demonstrating how AI can enhance the customer journey while driving sales.
In another impressive retail case study, TIRECRAFT Waterloo reported that its AI agent generated $15,000 in sales within its first month of deployment, with nearly $4,000 coming from new customers. The system's 24/7 availability ensured no missed opportunities, highlighting one of the key advantages of agentic AI in customer engagement.
Financial Services and Compliance
RegASK has introduced Agentic AI for regulatory compliance, automating regulatory alert creation and workflow management. This solution addresses the growing complexity of regulatory requirements by processing documents to generate alerts and impact assessments.
Meanwhile, Norm Ai secured $48 million in Series B funding to advance its AI-powered regulatory compliance platform. Founded by ex-Palantir engineers, the company uses AI agents for tasks like contract review and transaction monitoring, significantly reducing compliance time and resources.
Energy Sector Transformation
One of the largest deals in the energy sector came from AIQ, which secured a $340 million contract to deploy its agentic AI technology across operations. Their ENERGY ai platform aims to enhance efficiency in seismic analysis and geological modeling, potentially reducing process times from months to days.
Marketing Innovation
Netcore Cloud unveiled nine Agentic AI agents designed to enhance marketing efficiency by enabling 10x more personalized campaigns. Each agent specializes in distinct marketing functions such as content creation and analytics, automating complex workflows and allowing marketers to focus on strategic tasks.
Healthcare and Patient Care
In healthcare, blueBriX launched its AI Agent Marketplace to transform healthcare automation, focusing on enhancing operational efficiency and patient care. The marketplace offers AI solutions to automate administrative tasks, improve clinical decision-making, and boost patient engagement.
Challenges and Considerations
Privacy and Security Concerns
Signal president Meredith Whittaker issued a stark warning about agentic AI, highlighting significant privacy risks. She argued that AI agents require deep access to personal data, potentially compromising user privacy by accessing sensitive information like browser history and credit card details. This critique offers an important counterbalance to the sometimes uncritical enthusiasm for agentic AI.
Security Risks in Implementation
A recent article from Built In highlighted the hidden risks of AI agent adoption, emphasizing that these systems require broader system access than traditional software, creating expanded attack surfaces and potential for unpredictable behavior. This underscores the need for robust governance frameworks and real-time monitoring tools.
Integration Challenges
Despite new tools from major players, building AI agents remains a headache for tech leaders, according to TechTarget. Many seek clarity on practical applications and are concerned about integration issues and the lack of comprehensive case studies to guide investments.
Recent Research Papers
Two research papers caught my attention this week:
ProjectEval: A new benchmark for evaluating programming agents' code generation through user interaction simulation. This addresses a critical gap in how we assess AI coding agents and could significantly improve their development.
ReviewAgents: A framework using large language models to automate academic paper reviews. While still not matching human reviewers, the system narrows the performance gap and could help address the increasing workload faced by the research community.
What Analysts Tell Us
As we look ahead, Forrester's analysis that Agentic AI is the next competitive frontier seems increasingly accurate. They suggest early adopters will gain significant competitive advantages but must employ strategic approaches to mitigate potential risks.
Gartner predicts that by 2028, 33% of enterprise applications will incorporate agentic AI, automating 15% of daily work decisions, up from less than 1% in 2024. This trajectory suggests we're still in the early stages of a transformative technology wave.
What you'll learn
✅ Understanding Agentic AI: How Agentic AI differs from traditional automation and generative AI
✅ Real-world Experience of Agentic AI: Learn about Agentic AI through real-world implementations
✅ Strategy for Implementing Agentic AI Today: Frameworks for picking your starting point to deploying Agentic AI at scale
✅ Lessons Learned from Dozens of Agentic AI Implementations: Learn lessons from those who have deployed Agentic AI across industries
Why this topic matters
In a world where ChatGPT took us by storm, a far more powerful revolution is unfolding: AI Agents. Be among the first leaders globally to master agentic AI—the technology that's transforming how businesses operate, innovate, and create value. Learn how to increase value and gain a competitive advantage by mastering the next evolution of AI.
How to Register ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
👉 Join the free information session (Thu, Mar 20, 2025, 11:00 AM EDT, 45 minutes)
👉 Join the First Executive Masterclass on Agentic AI Strategy and Implementation
🔥 What’s your take this week? Let me know which Agentic AI trends excite—or worry—you the most. Let’s discuss!
If you found this valuable, share it with your network. Because very soon, we won’t say, “There’s an app for that.” We’ll say, “There’s an agent for that.”
See you next week. - Pascal
🤖 This newsletter was crafted by a team of seven AI agents with Nicolas Cravino's support. Each issue represents a unique collaboration between artificial and human intelligence, bringing you the best of both worlds.
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