If you’ve been dipping your toes into Microsoft Copilot, you may have noticed that AI is becoming a vastly more capable. Rather than simply answering a question and patiently waiting for the next one, it can increasingly help move a task forward.
This is known as agentic AI. It might sound like something from a sci-fi film, but the idea is surprisingly straightforward.
So, what exactly is agentic AI?
Agentic AI uses AI agents to complete tasks on your behalf. An agent can be given a series of instructions to follow, including steps that involve making simple decisions.
For example, you could create an agent that summarises your emails, identifies the five most urgent messages and drafts a reply in the correct tone to each one. Instead of asking Copilot to complete every individual step, you give the agent an overall goal and a set of instructions to follow.
Think of it like a recipe. A traditional AI chat can help you with one step at a time, while agentic AI can follow the whole recipe. It can work through multiple steps in the correct order and check in with you when it needs a decision or approval.
How do I get one of these fantastic agents?
There are several ways to start using AI agents:
- Use a pre-built agent.
- Create your own agent.
- Use an agent that a colleague has created and shared.
- Ask your IT support, assuming they are also AI specialist to build one for you.
Some agents are simple to set up, while others may need more careful planning, particularly if they are going to access company information or complete important business tasks.
Where does Copilot fit in?
Microsoft is steadily adding more agentic capabilities to Copilot.
For example, Copilot Cowork is designed to handle longer, multi-step pieces of work. You describe the outcome you need, and it can create a plan, work across relevant tools and files, and keep the task moving. It also provides checkpoints so you can review its progress, make changes or stop the process.
You could ask it to bring information together for a report, prepare for a meeting or help manage a busy workload. Rather than needing a new prompt at every stage, it can connect the steps and work towards the finished result.
The important thing is that you remain in control. Agentic AI isn’t about handing over the office keys and disappearing for the afternoon. It’s about taking some of the repetitive, multi-step slog off your plate, while keeping people involved in the decisions that matter.
Why should your business care?
If you’re new to Copilot, you don’t need to become an agentic AI expert overnight. However, it’s worth understanding the shift because it changes the conversation from:
“Can AI help me write this?”
to:
“Can AI help me handle this?”
Used thoughtfully, agentic AI could help your team save time, simplify everyday processes and concentrate on the work that genuinely needs a human touch.
Want a friendly place to start?
If you’ve been searching for AI consulting services in Sheffield, Resolve can help. We work with businesses to identify practical ways to use Copilot and AI without the technical waffle or pressure to automate everything in sight.
Get in touch with our Sheffield-based team for a friendly, jargon-free chat about where AI could make a genuine difference to your business.
