As AI agents start acting on behalf of users across apps, companies face new risks: agents could extract IP, overload servers, or be weaponized. Platforms may face legal liability for misuse they can't control at machine speed. Executives need to redesign interfaces now to handle non-human users.
Chapters
Markets are missing an important aspect of the AI revolution, and their apps aren't ready. Much of the current focus is inward-facing on how AI can help enterprises build better products or service customers in differentiating ways. But companies are ignoring the fact that future users won't be humans, but instead their AI agent proxies. If apps are not intentionally designed to embrace the agentic AI revolution, they will be left behind and at greater risk of being exploited. We're already seeing how users are embracing powerful personal agents to pursue objectives by engaging on their behalf through apps and websites. But there are many challenges to work through. What happens to your revenue model when agents can automatically extract value, intellectual property, or create workloads in ways your traditional human-centric platform never anticipated? What if your system allows a customer's AI agent to get abused or breached? The headline won't blame the agent. It will blame your platform. And who is legally responsible when a customer's agent misuses your data? Overloads your infrastructure, or uses the interface to manipulate the system. The industry needs to take a moment to ponder and prepare for this eventuality, with executive business leaders setting expectations for AI readiness of external interface workflows that comprehends non-human actors. Personal AI agents are rapidly gaining adoption and will become a prominent tool that introduces new cyber risks and business risks at machine speed. So ask yourself, is your app ready?
