During December’s AWS re:Invent, a senior Cisco exec introduced the vendor’s vision for an “Internet of Agents”.
But what exactly is an “Internet of Agents”?
In short, the concept envisions a system where various AI agents – developed by different vendors or organizations – can communicate and collaborate seamlessly.
For Vijoy Pandey, SVP of Outshift by Cisco, the company’s self-described “incubation engine”, in an ideal world, the approach would mirror the collaborative spirit of the original internet.
Pandey made these remarks in an interview with Zeus Kerravala, Founder of ZK Research, where the Cisco man championed the importance of interoperability to allow agentic AI to really flourish.
Currently, each vendor is developing its own agents. Yet, Pandey believes that this could lead to what he refers to as “walled gardens” (isolated systems).
For example, if a Salesforce agent doesn’t communicate with an Adobe agent, inefficiencies will bubble to the surface.
“Wall gardens or overarching agents may exist, but they don’t derive maximum value for every entity,” said Pandey.
“We want value for vendors, developers, operators, and customers.
Building an open, interoperable system ensures we avoid a ‘Lord of the Rings’ super-agent and instead create a distributed framework.
Pandey’s Lord of the Rings reference relates to the idea of “One Agent to Rule Them All”.
However, for Cisco, a distributed model is the preferred strategy, as it maximizes value and ensures no single entity dominates the ecosystem.
A Rising Tide
For Pandey, a significant benefit of an Internet of Agents is in the cross-collaborative opportunities that it could bring.
As an example, the Cisco SVP suggests that AlphaFold’s protein folding tech and OpenAI’s language processing capabilities could combine with robotic entities to help with drug discovery.
Another advantage to an internet/network system is that it encourages more vendors to join, which provides customers with a greater variety of solutions and platforms to choose from.
This also behooves stakeholders, as the value will grow as more and more agents join the system, as Pandey explains:
Historically, many vendors believed walled gardens protected their base. But when industries embrace openness, they create rising tides and bigger opportunities for everyone.
In closing his conversation with Kerravala, the Cisco man had some specific advice for vendors and customers.
For the former, he encouraged providers to embrace interoperability and participate in defining and building the open system to ensure long-term success – or else they run the risk of becoming obsolete.
For the latter, he strongly urged customers to not accept isolated offerings but to demand interoperable and open solutions from vendors to maximize the value of AI agents in their workflows.
What an Internet of Agents Could Look Like
The idea of AI agents from different sectors and vendors all working together across multiple companies sounds transformative but can be difficult to picture.
With the technology still in relative infancy, it is surprising how many different AI agents are already on the market.
Consider customer experience. There are lots of use cases here. For instance, consider a post-purchase assistance agent that offers support by sending setup instructions, scheduling tutorial calls, or suggesting accessories for smart devices.
Meanwhile, in customer service, agents may autonomously tag customer contacts with intent, create new knowledge articles, and interact autonomously with customers.
Then, think about the broader customer experience. For instance, a brand could create an AI agent that creates personalized travel itineraries based on customer history, booking experiences, and restaurants to simplify planning and enhance the journey.
Overall, there are thousands of possible use cases in customer experience and many more across the enterprise.
Given this, an Internet of Agents that allows businesses to scout, test, and deploy agents may be the next-best technology platform.