Are AI agents the next big thing in B2B?

New digital workforce to help teams focus more on the strategic tasks that matter

The agents are coming – but don’t worry, these ones are here to help. Forget the dark-suited Agent Smith who wanted to take control of the Matrix, the AI agents coming to B2B want to work alongside you to help with everyday tasks instead.

Agents are the next development of the AI revolution and while sounding like an ominous character, they’re more akin to a digital colleague. They’re allies that work smartly and tirelessly to handle the time-consuming tasks you need doing as part of your job – improving a business’s efficiency and output.

They have the ability to analyse mountains of data in seconds, quickly understand and take over complex workflows, and provide real-time recommendations to help teams make more-informed decisions.

These agents use AI, such as machine learning and automation, to handle complex and repetitive jobs so you don’t have to, creating the time for you to do the strategic work that creates the most value.

Often AI agents will take on different forms and examples of their use won’t be badged as such. But make no mistake, they’re the work of agents.

b2b.store’s launch of ProAgent in its WhatsApp Business API platform, ProConnect, is a prime example of how the technology is being used. On the face of it, it’s similar to the AI assistants we’re all growing familiar with, but it’s been specifically trained with live campaign data and real-time weather reports and relevant event information to provide analysis and marketing advice.

That ability to monitor and analyse large volumes of data from specific sources and turn it into actionable insight is highly valuable because it’s skipping the manual legwork of a human data analyst and offering up tangible results instead.

JW Filshill’s AI support bot to inform retailers on the single-use vape ban also made the most of agent technology. People can email an address with questions about the legislation and receive an immediate response from an AI programme loaded with a guidance document about the ban – becoming a sounding board that can reply to specific queries in a way a Google search couldn’t.

It won’t be long until AI goes even further, with expected common uses including:

Sales forecasting – Loaded with historic sales data and real-time trends information, AI agents will project future sales to help with inventory management

Data analysts/strategists – Your very own data expert, on hand 24 hours a day. Armed with a bank of data and contextual knowledge about your business, AI agents will crunch the numbers to offer up insightful observations and actionable suggestions in double-quick time.

Customer support – Chatbots may have started the automated customer service revolution, but AI agents will take this to the next level, with an ability to instantly answer customer questions and, crucially, make decisions to resolve issues where appropriate.

Lead generation and qualifying prospects – An AI agent can act as a smart, always-on sales assistant that proactively identifies, engages and qualifies high-potential leads – doing the legwork for initial outreach so you don’t have to.

The potential time savings and performance improvements are huge and with AI tools already becoming increasingly prevalent in B2B, the time is now to familiarise yourself with a new future. Only, unlike The Matrix, this time the agents are on our side.