Equipped with advanced reasoning capabilities, agents can break down complex goals into smaller, manageable tasks and develop plans to execute them.
Action-oriented autonomy
Agents are built to operate with a degree of independence, established by human overseers, and to make decisions and take actions based on their goals and the environment. They can be designed to execute tasks autonomously or to operate under close human oversight, seeking approval before proceeding to the next step or taking a specific action. The degree of control can be adjusted over time, potentially increasing the agent's autonomy as confidence in its performance grows.
Memory and context
Agents can keep track of context over extended interactions, using past actions and information to inform future decisions. This enables them to handle complex, multistep workflows.
Integration with systems and tools
Agents can connect to and use a wide range of software systems, tools, and data sources. This allows them to perform tasks that involve interacting with existing technology infrastructure.
From efficiency to transformative value
BCG has been working with clients since 2023 to build and implement AI agents. We have developed an open-source agent-building toolkit (AgentKit) used on more than 30 projects. In the course of this work, we have seen agents’ ability to act, unlocking transformative value far beyond simple automation. Our clients have achieved eye-opening results in these areas:
R&D
A shipbuilding company used an autonomous, multiagent architecture with reasoning and planning capabilities to automate design tasks, reducing the engineering resources required by 45% and lead time per ship deck by 80%.
Sales
A global logistics company used agents to automate its request-for-proposal response process, achieving 30% to 50% efficiency gains.
Sales and marketing
A large bank in Southeast Asia increased assets under management by 5% to 10% and increased customer conversions four- to sixfold using agents to provide relationship managers with real-time input for developing personalised offerings.
Customer engagement
A global cosmetics company reinvented the consumer experience and increased conversions five- to tenfold over traditional digital channels with a GenAI-powered beauty assistant.
Supply chain management
A leading industrial goods company increased its EBIT margins by 3 to 10 points with an agent developed to run supply chain planning simulations, identify risks and their impact on operations, and propose mitigations.
What all these examples have in common is the use of AI agents able to reshape business processes, integrating previously siloed workflows and removing unnecessary steps regardless of organisational boundaries. Unlocking this transformative power requires a strategic, focused approach based on a company’s overall business objectives. It also means that the 10–20–70 rule - 10% of the effort should be focused on algorithms, 20% on technology and data, and the remaining 70% on people and processes - is more relevant than ever. The importance of adhering to responsible AI practices increases as well, since agents will delve into the weeds of risk management and process integrity.