The Agentic AI Hype

The world of AI loves its fancy jargon. “Deep Learning”, “Hyperparameter”, “Neural Network”. The list goes on. If you’ve been anywhere near tech news lately, you’ve probably heard the term “agentic AI” thrown around like it’s the lightbulb moment for automating complex workflows. But what is it, really? And does it deserve all the hype? Let’s investigate.

What Is “Agentic AI,” Anyway?

In plain English, “agentic AI” just means an AI that can do stuff on its own. That’s it. Instead of you telling it every single step, you say, “Hey AI, book me a vacation,” and it figures out the flights, hotels, and maybe even packs your suitcase by calling your home robot remotely (that is if you have one; in 2025 most of us don’t have one yet).

It’s like the difference between:

• Normal AI: Tell me the weather in Paris.
• Agentic AI: Plan my Paris trip. (And the AI goes, “Oui, monsieur!” and gets to work.)

Why Is Everyone So Excited?

Because “agentic” sounds fancy, and we all “loves” fancy. It’s the same reason we say “synergy” instead of “working together,” and “ideate” instead of “think.” If you slap a mysterious word on something, people will think it’s magic. Check this out Airline Announcements | George Carlin to see what I mean.

But really, agentic AI is just AI with a to-do list and the ability to Google | Bing | Duck Duck Go things for you. It’s like hiring an intern who never sleeps, never complains, but sometimes gets confused and tries to book you a flight to Paris, but in Texas.

How Does It Work?

Here’s the secret sauce:

1. You give it a goal.
2. It breaks the goal into steps.
3. It does the steps (using the same old tricks).
4. It checks its work.
5. It comes back to you, hopefully with what you wanted.

That’s it. No magic. No robot uprising. No Skynet, yet.

Why the Hype?

The hype around agentic AI often follows a pattern seen in previous tech cycles, where new concepts build upon foundational ideas. Think of how “cloud computing” evolved from earlier distributed systems, or “machine learning” emerged from statistical methods. While agentic AI draws on established principles, the current excitement is driven by new capabilities and potential applications.

Should You Care?

Only if you like the idea of AI doing more for you-like booking appointments, sending emails, or planning your next dinner party. But don’t let the word “agentic” fool you. It’s just AI with a bit more independence and maybe a little attitude :)

If you’re planning to build your own agentic AI, understanding the core concepts is crucial. It’s not just about chaining together API calls; it involves designing systems that can interpret complex instructions, make decisions, learn from feedback, and interact with dynamic environments. This requires a deep dive into areas like planning, memory, tool use, and ethical considerations to create agents that are not only capable but also reliable and safe. For all that, come back later as I plan to write about it soon.

The Bottom Line

Agentic AI isn’t magic. It’s not HAL 9000. It’s just AI with a checklist and a can-do attitude. So next time someone tries to impress you with “agentic AI,” just nod and say, “Oh, you mean AI that can run errands? Cool.”

And if you want to sound fancy, just call your own to-do list “agentic.” Who knows, maybe you’ll start a trend.

TL;DR:
Agentic AI: AI that can do multi-step tasks for you.
Hype level: Over 9000.
Reality: Just a helpful digital intern.