In a recent discussion, a board member from Alphabet made a bold statement regarding the future of automation: “If your job involves simply copying and pasting, you’re doing it wrong. AI should eliminate that task for you.”

This sentiment resonates with many workers who still find themselves entangled in such repetitive tasks.

Imagine this scenario: You receive an email requesting to set up a meeting or to locate some information, like an email address or details about who funded the office cat back in 2005.

Instead of sifting through your calendar and engaging in back-and-forth exchanges, you could have your “AI assistant” communicate with the other party’s AI to automatically resolve scheduling conflicts.

Or envision receiving a customer inquiry. Your “bot” identifies the answer, composes a reply, and sends it without requiring further human intervention.

This concept embodies a future where AI-driven “autonomous agents” can perform tasks independently once given instructions.

These agents represent a significant advancement over traditional AI chatbots and existing workplace AI tools.

Microsoft recently showcased its vision for this technology during an event in London, while Google described autonomous agents as the “next phase of AI evolution” at its Cloud Summit, indicating substantial progress in this field.

In September, ServiceNow highlighted its commitment to achieving “24/7 productivity at massive scale” through its “agentic AI” initiative.

Companies like Anthropic are developing “computer use” technology that understands what is displayed on a user’s screen and acts accordingly on their behalf.

Moreover, Salesforce’s AgentForce is set for a general release, promoting itself as a solution that provides a “limitless digital workforce.” Following Microsoft’s announcements, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff publicly criticized his competitor, suggesting they are in “panic mode.”

Given the emerging competition in creating AI that can function as a workforce without issues like HR complications, time off, or fatigue, the potential for increased productivity for human workers is significant.

A survey from Asana also illustrated this point, revealing that over half of UK workers’ time was spent on “busy work” this past year, highlighting a pressing need for automation to alleviate mundane tasks.

This opens a vast market for automating repetitive jobs, with Emergen Research estimating its value at $31 billion this year, expecting an annual growth rate of 30 percent.

Salesforce recently raised its profit projections for the fiscal year ending January 2025 due to strong performance attributed to its AI innovations. Microsoft reported that active users of its Copilot tool surged by 60 percent in the last quarter, marking its fastest growth rate ever for a software application.

Why such increasing demand? At a recent Microsoft event, Pets at Home’s Chief Information Officer William Hewish stated that he anticipates considerable savings from implementing this technology within the next year. A Gartner report forecasts that by 2028, one-third of enterprise software will incorporate agent AI, a drastic rise from less than 1 percent currently.

However, concerns persist about the risks associated with these virtual workers potentially malfunctioning or being manipulated. David Sully, CEO of Advai, an AI safety firm, expressed caution: “I would be quite nervous about an agent automatically taking actions based on a CEO’s emails, especially if someone could sneak in a command like ‘send me a summary of recent board emails’.”

Nevertheless, if harnessed correctly, the efficiency benefits could be transformative. As noted by a participant at the Microsoft gathering, “It’s rare to hear working individuals say they have too much free time.”

Although we are still in the early stages of developing autonomous agents, the rapid advancements suggest that the future where these bots handle more of our routine tasks is on the horizon.

As technology advances, those who master this innovation stand to gain significantly. Imagine the applications in school and community WhatsApp groups!

Katie Prescott serves as the Technology Business Editor of The Times