The AI Agent as Coworker Debate: Optimism vs. Skepticism in the Future of Work

Why The "AI Agent As Coworker" Narrative Is The Future

In this two-part blog series, Principal Analysts Anthony McPartlin and Seth Marrs debate the idea of AI agents as coworkers. In this blog, Seth takes the perspective of the believer, while in the second blog, Anthony (ever the pragmatist) explains why this is overblown. There's no debate that the talk track that some vendors are using around AI agents is hyperbolic. Vendors large and small are making claims that just don't hold up in the real world. This is especially true for enterprise organizations, where business complexity and compliance create an environment that many AI agents are not built to support ... yet. The gap between an amazing demo and the ability to translate those features into your business has never been greater, but that doesn't mean that this technology doesn't have value today that will evolve into the way organizations work in the future. AI Agents Are Following A Well-Trodden Path To Success AI agents are gaining the most traction with small- and medium-sized businesses and the middle market. The barriers to adoption, risks, and business complexity are all lower, making this the perfect place for innovative technology companies to start. Over the years, most new sales tech started by delivering value for this customer base. Sales engagement, conversation intelligence, revenue operations and intelligence, and even new entrants to established categories such as sales planning management started here and expanded. AI agents are following the same path as the sales tech vendors before it. Agent Coworkers: Reality Or Fiction? Every year at Dreamforce, Salesforce touts a new technology as the "greatest new technology" with a significant amount of hype that typically fades and generates a limited market response. Last year, the stock price dropped 3% after Dreamforce. But this year, it jumped 4% after the event. The stock price is increasing based on Agentforce and shows that the company is meeting the moment. The bigger challenge for Salesforce is to deliver an innovative, cutting-edge product. The verdict is still out on that, but investment feeds innovation, so AI agents will become a reality, whether it's Salesforce or someone else leading the way. Why Start Working With AI Coworkers Now? There is an opportunity for short- and long-term value for those who take the right steps. Taking the perspective of a believer, here are three ways to use AI agents to make a difference for your company right now:

The "AI Agent As Coworker" Narrative Is Nonsense

In this two-part blog series, Principal Analysts Anthony McPartlin and Seth Marrs debate the idea of AI agents as coworkers. Here, Anthony takes a skeptical perspective, while in his blog, Seth (ever the optimist) makes his case for a more positive view of AI agents. An ad campaign has been running on bus shelters across San Francisco encouraging employers to "Stop Hiring Humans" and that "The Era of AI Employees Is Here." The ad is part of a broader campaign by sales AI startup Artisan and aims to highlight the advantages that AI employees have over humans. "Artisans won't complain about work-life balance" and "Artisan's Zoom cameras will never 'not be working' today," claims some of the other ads in the campaign. AI Agents Are "Manna From Heaven" For Sales Tech Providers Artisan's approach is certainly attention-grabbing. But many sales tech providers are pushing a similar narrative to excite the market and reignite funding and growth. Early-stage investors such as Y Combinator are pouring money into similar sales startups, while even the mighty Salesforce is placing its hopes on its new Agentforce platform. Since its release at Dreamforce, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff has been touting such "digital labor platforms" as a trillion-dollar market opportunity. Benioff seems to have convinced the financial markets in the process, with Salesforce's market cap rising by $50 billion as a result. Agent Coworkers: Reality Or Fiction? Amid the current hype blizzard around agentic AI, it is vital that sales leadership and those with ownership of sales technology can separate reality from fiction. They must understand the real near-term potential and priorities while preparing their organizations for longer-term change being driven by these innovations. Having spent some time speaking to this cohort in recent months, I think this is a challenge for many in B2B. It's Time To Take A Hard Look At The AI Coworker Narrative Taking a more cynical perspective, here are five reasons why the "AI agent as coworker" narrative is nonsense: Healthy AI Skepticism Is Good Holding such views does not automatically imply that you may be an AI troglodyte. Being skeptical of the coworker narrative is not at odds necessarily with believing in the long-term value or impact of AI in sales. Having a balanced view will actually help inform a better AI strategy and priortitize more impactful use cases. It should also inform stronger change management approaches that combine adoption, employee satisfaction, and, ultimately, more significant company impact.