THE FIVE LEVELS OF AI AGENTS: FROM AUTOMATION TO AUTONOMY

Pascal Bornet, Jochen Wirtz, Thomas H. Davenport, David De Cremer, Brian Evergreen, Phil Fersht, Rakesh Gohel and Shail Khiyara

Chapter 3 in Agentic Artificial Intelligence:Harnessing AI Agents to Reinvent Business, Work, and Life, 2025, pp 61-81 from World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.

Abstract: As we saw in Chapter 1, the market for AI agents is growing rapidly, with hundreds of vendors offering solutions across a spectrum of capabilities. This proliferation creates a challenge: How do we make sense of these different systems? How do we distinguish between simple automation tools and truly autonomous agents? This chapter introduces a comprehensive framework for understanding the progression of AI agent capabilities—from basic rule-following to sophisticated autonomy—that will help you navigate this complex landscape and make informed decisions about which solutions are right for your needs.

Keywords: Agentic AI; Artificial Intelligence; AI Agents; ChatGPT; Progressive Autonomy; Multi-agent Systems; Entrepreneurship; Change management; Business model; Automation; Safeguards for AI Systems; End-to-end business processes; Intelligent automation; Generative AI; Claude; Gemini; Agentic; Artificial Agency; AI Progression Framework; API; Deterministic System; Probabilistic System; Neural Network Revolution; Language Models; Robotic Process Automation; AI Adoption; Technology; Software; SPAR Framework (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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