Information
has to be researched manually
What are AI agents?
From assistant to digital employee
AI agents analyze information, pursue goals and independently take over tasks within business processes. They support employees in their daily work and lay the foundation for a new form of collaboration between people and AI.
People make decisions. Agents take over the routine.
Challenges
Why companies lose time despite modern software
Modern companies have more data than ever before. ERP, CRM, email, Teams, Excel, specialist applications and document repositories contain everything needed for good decisions. Every day, employees spend valuable time gathering information, checking it and transferring it between different systems.
Decisions
take longer than necessary
Routine tasks
tie up skilled staff
Tasks
that create value are left undone
Companies have long had the relevant data. The challenge is a lack of time to use that data meaningfully. This is where AI agents come in.
Definition
What makes an AI agent a digital employee
AI agents are more than just chatbots. They are autonomous systems that understand goals, retrieve information from different sources, make decisions independently and carry out tasks – without every step having to be triggered manually. Unlike classic software, agents don't just react to input but act proactively within defined goals and rules.
AI agents are already integrated into many existing business applications such as Microsoft Dynamics 365. But they can also be provided to fit individual systems. Because they work with people and can coordinate with other agents, they function like digital employees. To carry out tasks, they need three things:
Knowledge
Access information
- ERP data
- CRM data
- Documents
- Policies
- Emails
- Meeting information
Goals
Understand the assignment
- Goals
- Rules
- Business processes
- Priorities
Ability to act
Take action
- Research information
- Create tasks
- Compose messages
- Trigger processes
- Prepare postings
- Coordinate other agents
Only the interplay of these three elements turns a chatbot into an AI agent.
Areas of use
Where AI agents are already in use
AI agents bring a new level of intelligence to existing business applications. They analyze information, recognize the need for action and help teams work faster and more efficiently, for example based on existing systems such as Microsoft Dynamics 365 ERP or CRM. At the same time, agents can be provided in a technology-agnostic way and flexibly adapted to existing business processes.
Finance
Finance agents monitor transactions and support closing processes. They check incoming invoices, match them with purchase orders and prepare posting suggestions that your team then approves.
Sales
Sales agents qualify leads, prepare appointments and take over administrative tasks. They capture incoming orders automatically and structure customer requests so that more time remains for the conversation.
Supply chain
Agents in the supply chain detect risks early, share information and coordinate measures. They spot delivery delays, update dates automatically and inform the affected parties before a delay becomes a problem.
Expansion stages
From embedded agents to agent systems
Today, AI agents come in three different expansion stages. Which variant is suitable for your company depends on which process an agent is meant to simplify and which technologies are already in use in your company.
Standard agents Prebuilt agents are provided directly in the technologies you use, for example for invoice checking, customer service or sales in Microsoft Dynamics 365. These agents are usually ready to use right away with minimal configuration effort.
Custom agents For processes that no standard case covers, we develop tailor-made agents – either with Microsoft Copilot Studio or technology-agnostic on the basis of your existing systems, when the standard isn't enough.
Multi-agent systems Several specialized agents work in a coordinated way on an overarching process, for example when a finance agent, a supply chain agent and a sales agent respond to the same order together. This is the stage at which individual agents become an agentic enterprise.
Microsoft agents
AI agents in Microsoft Dynamics 365
In Microsoft Dynamics 365, AI agents have long been part of the feature set and are embedded directly in the applications your teams already use every day.
The Finance Agent works directly in Excel and Outlook, and the Sales Agent supports sales teams in Teams and in their mailbox. Your employees therefore don't have to switch to a separate AI interface. In the background, these agents access your existing Dynamics 365 data – master data, documents, process logic. No additional system is created that first has to be laboriously connected. Every action of an agent can be centrally managed, monitored and traced. You can read how we safeguard this for your company in the section AI agents need trust.
AI agent or Copilot: what's the difference?
Within the Microsoft world, the two terms often come up together. The difference, however, is decisive for choosing the right tool.
Microsoft Copilot
Copilot is an assistant: it answers questions and helps as soon as a person asks it to.
Responds to requests.
AI agent
AI agents become active on their own and independently take over a defined part of a business process.
Acts on its own.
Agents don't stop at system boundaries
Business processes often run across different systems and applications such as ERP, CRM, email and Microsoft Teams. AI agents connect data, applications and communication channels into end-to-end processes and work across system boundaries.
Our focus is on the Microsoft ecosystem. If your company landscape requires it, we also develop AI agents for other systems and platforms. What matters is not the technology but the process an agent is meant to improve.
Framework & control
AI agents need trust
The more responsibility an agent takes on in day-to-day business, the more important traceability and control become. Using AI agents productively means combining automation and governance in a targeted way, with clear limits that you set yourself.
Access
Which data may an agent access – and which not? A role and permission concept governs this, just as it does for every human employee.
Approval
For which actions does the agent decide on its own, and where is human approval mandatory?
Traceability
Which decision was made when, and on which data basis? Clean logging creates the basis for auditable, privacy-compliant use.
Control
Can the agent be monitored during operation and stopped if necessary? Responsibility should remain with people in everyday work, too.
Agentic enterprise
The journey to the agentic enterprise
Many companies start with an AI assistant. But the real transformation only begins when AI actively does the work.
- Stage 1
AI provides answers
Ask questions. Get information.
- Stage 2
AI supports processes
Suggestions, analyses and recommendations.
- Stage 3
AI takes over tasks
Recurring activities are automated.
- Stage 4
Agents work together
Several specialized agents coordinate complex workflows.
- Stage 5
Agentic enterprise
Digital employees contribute to a company's value creation.
Why agenic
Why companies implement AI agents with agenic
Using AI agents successfully takes more than the right technology. What matters is the interplay of business processes, data, business applications and AI. This is exactly where agenic combines technological expertise with many years of experience in digitalizing complex business processes.
ERP & business processes
With our comprehensive ERP expertise, we create the foundation for finance, supply chain and operations agents that work productively in your core processes.
Software engineering
Where standard agents reach their limits, we develop custom AI agents and extensions that integrate seamlessly into your existing system landscape.
Connected operations
Agents deliver their greatest value when they work together across systems. We connect applications, data and processes into end-to-end workflows – instead of isolated individual solutions.
Customer operations
We understand sales, marketing and service processes and develop agents that intelligently support teams along the entire customer journey.
Future-proof, practical and technology-agnostic
As a Microsoft partner, we rely mainly on the Microsoft ecosystem and its powerful AI technologies. At the same time, we develop custom solutions where the standard isn't enough. In our experience, performance comes from the interplay of industry understanding, process knowledge and technical expertise.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Will AI agents replace employees?
No. AI agents are designed to support people. They take over repetitive, time-consuming tasks and thus create room for value-adding work: decisions, creativity and customer contact. The goal is collaboration between people and agents, not replacement.
Do we need new software for AI agents?
In most cases, no. Agents can be integrated into existing systems such as Microsoft Dynamics 365, CRM solutions or other business applications. They complement your existing IT landscape instead of replacing it – and can be adapted to your processes flexibly and in a technology-agnostic way.
Can AI agents make decisions?
AI agents can act autonomously and make recommendations within defined rules and goals. Strategic or far-reaching decisions always remain with people. The limits of their scope of action are set together with you – transparent, traceable and adjustable at any time.
What sets an AI agent apart from classic automation (RPA)?
RPA follows rigid, predefined rules. An AI agent interprets context and makes situation-dependent decisions without every individual case having to be programmed in advance.
How secure are AI agents in business use?
AI agents work within clearly defined guardrails: you decide which data they may use, when human approval is mandatory and how they are monitored during operation. These questions should be clarified before implementation.
What does using AI agents in Microsoft Dynamics 365 cost?
The costs depend on the scope and the agents used. In Dynamics 365, many agents are billed on a usage basis via Copilot Credits, in addition to existing licenses.
How do we get started with AI agents in our company?
The most sensible first step is an assessment: which processes are documented, which data is digitally available, which systems are already integrated? Our agent readiness check provides an initial assessment.
Let's talk about your first steps with AI agents
Every company has different workflows, systems and priorities. In the free initial consultation, we look at your starting point and clarify which next steps make sense from a business and technical perspective.
Book an initial consultation
We'll get back to you promptly.
