Think of today’s business software as a collection of islands. Each application – from Salesforce to Workday – sits in isolation, connected by basic bridges called APIs. These bridges only carry simple messages: “send this data” or “do this task.” But AI agents are changing this landscape. Instead of rigid interfaces, imagine intelligent assistants that can understand complex requests, make decisions, and work together to get things done. This creates an agent-to-agent (A2A) economy, where software systems communicate through AI horizontal and vertical intermediaries. Just as cloud computing created the SaaS economy and smartphones sparked the app economy, AI is creating a new economic ecosystem.
Consider what happens when a new employee joins a company. Currently, HR teams can spend hours manually entering data into different systems, setting up accounts, and coordinating with IT. In an A2A system, one AI agent receives the onboarding request and orchestrates the entire process – working with other agents to create accounts in Workday, set up email in Microsoft 365, configure access in ServiceNow, and add documents to OneDrive. Oracle launched a suite of AI agents for manufacturing and supply chain management at its CloudWorld event in Austin this week, seeing yet another vendor move further into the agent-to-business (A2B) market.
Agents aren’t just confined to the enterprise. Picture your daily tasks being handled by your own AI assistant. Instead of you juggling multiple apps and websites, your personal agent coordinates with business AI systems behind the scenes – agent-to-consumer (A2C) interaction. Take booking a holiday… today, you’d spend hours comparing flights on different websites, checking hotel reviews, and coordinating dates. In the A2C model, you simply tell your AI assistant your preferences and your agent then negotiates with airline agents, hotel booking agents, and tour operators to create personalised options.
Think about an AI agent booking your holiday or negotiating with a new supplier. It needs to coordinate multiple agreements and payments. ‘Smart contracts’ could automate these transactions, holding funds until services are confirmed and releasing payments automatically when conditions are met. The blockchain provides an unchangeable record of every interaction, letting you track exactly what your agent did on your behalf. This could be the real-world application blockchain and web3 have been waiting for. While cryptocurrencies and NFTs grabbed headlines, the real value might be in providing the trust and payment layer for the emerging agent economy.
Takeaways: We’re seeing a move from isolated software systems to interconnected AI agents, creating a new economic model. Unlike cloud or mobile, agents are poised to transform both software spending and labour costs – tapping into budgets that are 30x larger than current software spend. The numbers suggest why major tech companies are investing heavily in this space.