In a new Workday Podcast series, Workday CTO Jim Stratton and Chief Product Officer David Somers examine how the adoption of AI agents also presents new opportunities and considerations for business leaders.
Ghadeer Redler
Head of Multimedia, Thought Leadership & Customer Stories
Workday
Audio also available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
The advent of AI agents in the enterprise suggests a future with a digital workforce that can perform tasks and learn users’ preferences, someday making them as ubiquitous as smartphones are today.
While generative AI’s ability to create images or write code is already well known, AI agents “take it a step further,” said David Somers, chief product officer at Workday. “AI agents actually take action. They complete tasks, and they interact in the world around them.”
In a recent conversation with Jim Stratton, chief technology officer at Workday, Somers likened generative AI to an engine and the AI agent as the car: “The engine is powerful, but it’s the car that really gets you to where you want to go.”
Report
Already, HR and finance use cases are proving the capabilities of AI agents. For instance, a recruiting agent can help talent acquisition professionals source candidates, automate outreach, and improve hiring quality, Somers said. AI agents are also assisting HR business partners, payroll specialists, and finance professionals in their daily tasks.
Yet the adoption of AI agents also presents new considerations for business leaders. Integrating AI agents into the workforce, Somers said, will require leaders to treat them as valuable collaborators while maintaining a focus on employee well-being and trust.
“Just as organizations need a system to manage employees, we fundamentally believe they’re going to need a way to manage the digital workforce as well,” Somers said. “There’s going to need to be a single source of truth ensuring that these AI agents are deployed, they’re monitored, and they’re maintained in a way that aligns with your organization’s goals, your ethical guidelines, and also industry regulations and country regulations as well.”
Integrating AI agents into the workforce, Somers said, will require leaders to treat them as valuable collaborators while maintaining a focus on employee well-being and trust.
Oversight also becomes increasingly important as AI agents become more sophisticated and integrated into critical business processes. Somers also highlighted the crucial role of data governance and control, emphasizing Workday's commitment to responsible AI development.
Stratton added that users need to have “granular control” of what AI agents are able to do, taking into consideration its capabilities, its skills, and what data it can access.
Looking ahead, Somers anticipates that AI agents will become increasingly sophisticated, capable of analyzing information, assessing risks, and making autonomous decisions. “You’re going to start to see these agents get to a point where they learn our preferences, they understand our habits, our goals,” he said.
Similarly, Stratton envisions a world where agents seamlessly integrate into our daily lives, anticipating our needs and becoming indispensable to both our professional and personal lives. In his words, “This will be the new manifestation of cell phones for us basically. You’re not going to know how to live without your personal agent even in your home life, let alone in your digital work life.”
Here are a few highlights from the episode, edited for clarity. Be sure to follow us wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts, and remember you can find our entire podcast catalog here.
Report
A gap between effort and impact is the real ROI problem. Discover the solution.