AI agents need more than intelligence. They need identity, boundaries, governance, and accountability
For the past few years, organizations have focused on using artificial intelligence as an assistant. AI has helped employees write content, summarize documents, generate code, analyze information, and answer questions. These capabilities have already improved productivity across many industries. However, the next stage of enterprise AI is fundamentally different. We are moving from AI systems that provide answers to AI agents that perform actions . An AI assistant may explain how to resolve a customer issue. An AI agent can identify the issue, retrieve the customer’s information, execute an approved workflow, update the appropriate systems, notify stakeholders, and document the outcome. This transition creates enormous opportunities—but it also introduces new architectural, security, and governance challenges. What Makes an AI Agent Different? A traditional application executes predefined instructions. A generative AI assistant responds to prompts. An AI agent can pursue a goal ...