Expect to see the rise of AI agents and multimodal models, along with an end to “AI theater.” Expectations are high that AI will move beyond just generating text and images and morph into agents that can complete complex tasks on behalf of users. Here’s what 25 of them said. (The quotes have been edited for clarity and length.) Charles Lamanna, Corporate Vice President, Business and Industry Copilot at Microsoft: “By this time next year, you’ll have a team of agents working for you. This could look like anything from an IT agent fixing tech glitches before you even notice them, a supply chain agent preventing disruptions while you sleep, sales agents breaking down silos between business systems to chase leads, and finance agents closing the books faster.”
