Bots, agents, and digital workers: AI is changing the very definition of work

Imagine a world where your digital colleague handles entire workflows, adapts to real-time challenges, and collaborates seamlessly with your human team. This isn’t science fiction—it’s the imminent reality of AI agents in the workplace.

As Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, boldly predicted at their annual DevDay event, “2025 is when AI agents will work.” But what does this mean for the future of human labor, organizational structures, and the very definition of work itself?

According to research by The Conference Board, 56% of workers use generative AI on the job, and nearly 1 in 10 use generative AI tools daily.

As we move into this AI-enabled stage of business, it’s essential to understand the transformative potential of AI agents, explore how they’re set to revolutionize the workplace, and challenge ourselves to reconceptualize the human-machine partnership in the world of work.

Ultimately, AI’s involvement in the workplace can be categorized into three buckets: Bots, AI Agents, and Digital Workers. Here is a guide to how each of these is impacting the world of work.

Bots

Bots, short for robots, are software applications programmed to perform automated tasks. In the business context, chatbots are often used to streamline operations, enhance customer service, and improve internal processes. Most chatbots are programmed using Natural Language Processing (NLP) to interpret and understand human language and machine learning, which allows the chatbots to learn and improve from data over time.

Over the past decade, the adoption of bots in business environments spanning healthcare, retail, banking, and a range of other industries has seen exponential growth. The chatbot market has experienced remarkable growth, and is expected to expand from $396.2 million in 2019 to $27.3 billion by 2030. This surge in bot usage can be attributed to advancements in NLP, increased demand for 24/7 customer support, and the growing recognition of bots’ potential to enhance operational efficiency across various business functions.

However, chances are you know the feeling of smashing the zero key in frustration as you try to exit chatbot support and connect with a human. While bots offer numerous benefits, they also come with limitations that businesses must consider.

One primary challenge is the potential for misunderstanding complex or nuanced queries, which can lead to user frustration and incorrect information dissemination. Additionally, bots may struggle with context-dependent situations or emotionally sensitive issues, areas where human empathy and judgment are crucial. Lastly, there are concerns about data privacy and security, as bots often handle sensitive information, requiring robust safeguards to protect against potential breaches or misuse of data.

AI agents

In contrast, an AI agent is an autonomous software entity or program designed to perceive its environment, make decisions, and take actions to achieve specific goals or objectives without direct human intervention.

Reading about AI agents and their transformative potential in the workplace can feel like looking into the future—but this future is already knocking on our door.

AI agents are poised to take automation to unprecedented levels, transcending simple task completion to instead manage complete, complex, adaptive workflows. This shift represents a quantum leap from traditional automation technologies. Here are a few factors to consider when weighing the future of AI agents:

• Scope of capability: Unlike simple bots, AI agents can handle entire processes, making decisions and adjusting their actions based on real-time data and changing circumstances.
• Integration potential: A recent Capgemini survey found that 82% of tech executives plan to integrate AI-based agents across their organizations within the next three years, signaling a seismic shift in workplace technology adoption.
• Value perception: The same survey found that 71% of executives believe AI agents will help shift focus to more value-added activities, indicating a strategic view of AI as a tool for enhancing human potential rather than replacing it.

This rapid embrace of AI agents is driven by their potential to dramatically increase productivity and efficiency. A report from McKinsey states that “about half of the activities (not jobs) carried out by workers could be automated,” with AI agents playing a crucial role in this transformation.

“Agentic AI allows us to provide customers with accurate information within context,” says Marcus Sawyerr, CEO of EQ.app, an AI tool that helps recruiters find and engage talent. “It fulfills tasks precisely and improves based on user context and real-world data. This helps us find the right people for the right roles in real life.”

This distinction between automating activities (i.e. tasks) versus entire jobs is critical—it suggests a future where human-AI collaboration becomes the norm, rather than wholesale replacement.

As we weave agentic AI capabilities into our businesses, we will likely deconstruct jobs into individual tasks, and then identify the tasks that can be fully automated by these new AI technologies and agents.

Digital workers

And then there are “digital workers,” who are capable of handling entire workflows, adapting to real-time needs, and collaborating with humans in ways that weren’t imaginable a few years ago. If the phrase “digital worker” made you uneasy, you’re not alone.

Earlier this year, Lattice, an AI powered HR platform, came under fire for proposing a feature that would let organizations make employee records for AI workers.

“Today Lattice is making AI history,” CEO Sarah Franklin shared in a blog post announcing this new feature. “We will be the first to give digital workers official employee records in Lattice. Digital workers will be securely onboarded, trained, and assigned goals, performance metrics, appropriate systems access, and even a manager. Just as any person would be.”

Three days later, Lattice posted an update stating they would no longer pursue digital workers in the product.

The future was here, but it wasn’t a future we were ready for. Perhaps this is because of psychological barriers. The concept of “digital workers” highlights the psychological barriers to accepting AI as part of the workforce. It underscores the need for careful, thoughtful integration that respects human concerns while leveraging AI’s potential.

Human hesitation

The integration of AI agents into the workforce is not without its challenges, particularly when it comes to human perception and adaptation. Here are three realities decision-makers need to account for as we move forward with adopting, and adapting to, AI:

• Job displacement concerns: A Goldman Sachs report estimates that AI could replace the equivalent of 300 million full-time jobs, fueling anxiety about widespread unemployment.
• Partial automation reality: The same report found that two-thirds of jobs will experience partial automation, translating to the replacement of about one-quarter of work tasks in the U.S. and Europe.
• Current AI usage: Research by The Conference Board found that 56% of workers already use generative AI on the job, with nearly 1 in 10 using it daily. This indicates the gradual integration of AI into daily work processes has already begun.

In summary, while there will be some jobs that will be eliminated entirely in this new wave of AI automation, up to two-thirds of jobs will experience partial automation. This roughly translates to replacing one-quarter of work tasks in the U.S. and Europe.

How to adapt to AI

Deconstructing jobs into their constituent tasks is not merely a theoretical exercise—it will become a critical strategy for optimizing workforce efficiency in the age of agentic AI.

By breaking jobs into discrete tasks, organizations can identify which components are prime candidates for AI automation (typically routine, data-driven tasks) and which require uniquely human skills like emotional intelligence, creative problem-solving, or complex decision-making.

This task-level approach allows for more nuanced workforce planning, enabling companies to redesign roles that leverage both AI efficiency and human expertise. Successfully transitioning to this coming hybrid future is not just about parsing jobs for efficiency’s sake—it’s about preparing employees, aligning them with the right processes, and tracking the impact on organizational goals.

Ultimately, it’s re-architecting work itself.

“The AI Revolution in the workplace began with tools like ChatGPT, introducing employees to AI’s potential. Now, we’re witnessing the rise of AI agents that can actually perform tasks, not just assist with them,” says Timur Meyster, cofounder and chief product officer of OutRival, an AI-powered platform for customer experience teams. “This shift is even redefining success metrics, with businesses now measuring outcomes like enrollments, bookings, or appointments on a per-employee basis, showcasing the powerful synergy between human expertise and AI capabilities.”

I believe that in the new hybrid workforce, combining human intuition and emotional intelligence with AI precision will open doors for businesses to be more agile and productive. But the question we should be asking isn’t just how we adopt these technologies, it’s how we do it in a way that augments—rather than obsoleting—human potential. This means determining where and how we won’t leverage AI is as important as where we will.

Here are five considerations leaders should weigh when making these decisions:

• Skill development: Organizations must invest in upskilling and reskilling programs to prepare employees for roles that complement AI capabilities. This includes enhancing skills like creative problem-solving, emotional intelligence, and strategic thinking.
• Ethical considerations: Integrating AI agents raises critical ethical questions about data privacy, decision-making accountability, and the potential for bias. Organizations need robust frameworks to address these issues.
• Organizational restructuring: The advent of AI agents will likely necessitate changes in organizational structures, workflow processes, and management practices. Companies need to be proactive in redesigning their operations to maximize the benefits of human-AI collaboration.
• Performance metrics: New ways of measuring productivity and success in a hybrid workforce will be necessary. This might include evaluating the effectiveness of human-AI teams rather than individual performance alone.
• Change management: Perhaps most critically, organizations need comprehensive change management strategies to help employees adapt to and embrace AI agents as collaborators rather than threats.

The integration of AI agents into the workforce represents a paradigm shift in how we conceptualize work. While the challenges are significant, the potential benefits in terms of productivity, innovation, and job satisfaction are immense.

For business leaders and HR professionals, the task ahead is clear: Prepare your organizations and workforce for a future where human creativity and AI efficiency work in tandem. This means investing in technology, yes, but more importantly, investing in your people—their skills, their adaptability, and their capacity to work alongside intelligent machines.

Now is the time to demystify AI to your employees to proactively address the anxiety that comes with a change of this magnitude.

Perhaps the rise of AI agents isn’t just a technological shift, but a philosophical one—challenging us to rediscover the essence of our humanity in the face of artificial intelligence.

In dissecting jobs and reassembling them with AI, we’re not merely changing work—we’re evolving our understanding of human value in work itself. This process challenges us to question not just what we do but why we do it, pushing us toward a future where work becomes a true expression of our uniquely human capabilities.