4A's Noteworthy News - 23rd Edition — What's Next is Everything

Oct 28

Oct 28 4A's Noteworthy News - 23rd Edition

THE BIG STORY: The Rise of Agentic AI – Revolution or Reframe?

Agentic AI is pushing boundaries, with platforms like Microsoft (this week) and Salesforce (in September) announcing robust autonomous agents poised to reshape workflows across industries. Microsoft’s new “co-pilots” aim to shoulder end-to-end processes with little to no human touch, and Salesforce’s AgentForce offers enterprise clients pre-built AI bots for various business tasks. Anthropic and OpenAI are leaning into the agentic approach too (see stories about Claude’s upcoming ability to use a computer like a human and OpenAI Swarm), allowing models to handle multi-step processes autonomously, enhancing productivity for everything from customer service to data analysis.

For agencies, agentic AI could offload some of the more mechanical, repetitive tasks - and AI agents should be part of your AI strategy. But here’s the kicker: even as agents take on some workflows, the human element remains irreplaceable. Agency work thrives on creativity, empathy, and adaptability—traits uniquely human. As we adopt these “agents,” we’re not seeing a full replacement of roles but a reshaping, with humans steering high-level strategy, managing client relationships, and making complex decisions that require critical thinking.

As agentic AI scales, agency work will continue the evolution that began with broader generative AI. Embracing AI and agents will again automate the grunt work and liberate the great work. People still bring the passion, ingenuity, and contextual insight that clients value.

OTHER INTERESTING AI NEWS:

Meta’s LLaMA: Lightweight AI that Packs a Punch Meta introduces LLaMA quantized models, making powerful AI more accessible for businesses focused on mobile and cost-efficient AI solutions. Learn more

Midjourney Brings Image Editing to the Web: Midjourney will soon let users retexture and edit web images with AI tools directly in-browser, expanding creative control for uploaded or generated imagery. Check out the update.
Why Open Source AI is Winning Over Enterprises: Enterprises increasingly favor open-source AI for its flexibility, cost efficiency, and freedom from vendor lock-in, with platforms like Meta’s Llama leading the charge as open-source options reach quality parity with closed models. Explore the details.
AI Art Gets a Boost, but Branding Stumbles: Despite advancements, AI tools still struggle with brand logos, leaving startups to address this creativity gap. Learn more
Generative AI Adoption Hits 17% Growth – Data Quality Dips: Appen’s State of AI report shows impressive generative AI growth, though it raises concerns about declining data quality. See the full findings
Google’s NotebookLM Gets Supercharged: Google updates NotebookLM with new features, amplifying its research capabilities for users in academic and creative industries alike. Read more
DeepMind’s Music AI Opens New Creative Doors: Dive into generative music with DeepMind's latest tools—enabling live, interactive compositions and pro-grade audio quality. Discover more.
OpenAI’s Miles Brundage on AGI Readiness: OpenAI’s Director of Policy discusses the challenges of AGI and the urgency of setting responsible guidelines. Dive in
Perplexity Introduces Knowledge Search & Collaborative Spaces: Perplexity’s new Internal Knowledge Search combines web and internal data for seamless research, while "Spaces" offers customizable, secure collaboration hubs for teams. Explore the features.
ROI Metrics for Generative AI - A CFO’s Perspective: KPMG’s latest insights highlight new ways companies can track returns on generative AI investments. Explore the report