Digital Co-workers: Preparing to Manage your AI Agents
The Next Wave of Technology
Every technological revolution brings with it a flood of promises about transforming the workplace. Today, as AI agents emerge as potential digital colleagues, tech industry leaders paint an enticing picture of unprecedented possibilities for business operations.
This vision came into sharp focus during NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang's CES 2025 keynote presentation. He stood before a striking visual: a grid of digital avatars each labeled with familiar roles: Software Security, Customer Service, Factory Operations, and more - all oddly bearing his digitized face. These weren't just abstract AI concepts; they were previews of digital colleagues that could soon join our workforce. Announcing plans to release blueprints for easy agent deployment, Huang declared "IT... is going to be the HR department of AI agents," capturing both the promise and complexity of this future.
Why AI Agents Matter Now
For business leaders navigating today's challenges, AI agents represent more than just another technological advancement. They offer potential solutions to several pressing organizational challenges that regional businesses face.
AI agents can provide a systematic way to preserve and operationalize institutional knowledge. As experienced workforce members approach retirement, businesses risk losing decades of expertise. Agents can help capture, maintain, and consistently apply this valuable knowledge across operations.
They enable skilled workers to focus on high-value activities. By handling routine analysis and documentation, agents can free up human talent for creative problem-solving, relationship building, and strategic thinking - areas where human judgment and expertise create the most value.
AI agents offer a path to operational consistency and scalability. Unlike traditional automation, agents can adapt to changing conditions while maintaining quality standards, potentially helping businesses grow without sacrificing service excellence.
Reimagining IT's Role
As an IT leader who has worked alongside exceptional HR departments throughout my career, I find the concept of IT becoming "HR for AI agents" profound and fascinating. This isn't just about provisioning new software - this represents a shift in our workforce and IT’s supporting role. Listening to Jensen’s keynote, I allow myself to imagine a possible future….
IT departments develop onboarding programs to train AI agents, not just on technical processes, but on company values, ethics, and decision-making frameworks. IT will establish performance management processes, regularly evaluating and fine-tuning AI agents to ensure they continuously improve and align with business objectives.
The parallels with traditional HR functions run even deeper. IT would handle the digital equivalent of hiring - evaluating and selecting AI agents based on organizational needs and environmental fit. They would manage ongoing development, ensuring AI agents evolve with the organization's needs. And yes, they would even handle the digital equivalent of off-boarding, managing the transition of responsibilities and knowledge capture when retiring or replacing AI agents.
OK… Reality Check
As someone who spent two decades implementing enterprise technology, such as ERP and SaaS, across the globe, I know that actually realizing the promised vision of the latest digital revolution is never as straightforward as tech companies suggest. Like a technological gold rush, business leaders must be careful not to allow the hype to create a scarcity mindset which drives their organization into rushed, poorly planned investments. As the saying goes, “during a gold rush, sell shovels” and, let’s keep in mind, Nvidia has plenty of shovels to sell.
Success in this evolution requires a measured approach grounded in organizational realities.
Building Your Foundation
Businesses must first rethink how they capture and codify institutional knowledge. Ask "How do we capture the decision-making principles that guide our best performers?" For example, when a regional manufacturing firm began preparing for AI agent adoption, they started by shadowing their most experienced quality control specialists. They discovered these experts weren't just following procedures - they were applying complex situational awareness developed over decades. This insight transformed their approach to knowledge capture. At Liberated Leaders, all key decisions are captured in templated Decision Documents with clear success criteria, options, and roles.
Leaders can help their workforce make a vital mindset shift. Rather than seeing themselves as users of another software tool, employees must evolve into skilled communicators with digital colleagues. This transition from 'software user' to 'AI communicator' builds the foundation for effective collaboration between human and digital employees.
Download and share our free guide on Mastering GenAI Communication to build essential AI communication skills and start inviting a mindset shift among your teams.
Leaders must establish clear governance frameworks that define AI agent operations. The key question becomes: "Where should AI agents have autonomy, and where do we need human oversight?" Consider how one construction company implemented AI agents for project scheduling. They learned to create clear "decision boundaries" - agents could optimize schedules within set parameters, but changes affecting client commitments require human review.
Businesses must rethink how departments collaborate in managing AI agents. Unlike traditional software which often operates within clear departmental boundaries, AI agents, like employees, will work across domains - making decisions that impact customer relationships, brand reputation, operational efficiency, and others. Without strong cross-functional governance, businesses risk deploying AI agents that excel in one area at the expense of another. For example, an AI agent optimized purely for efficiency might handle customer interactions in ways that damage relationships, or one focused solely on customer satisfaction might make commitments that operations cannot fulfill.
The solution lies in creating dedicated AI governance teams that bring together cross-functional expertise. These teams don't just oversee implementation - they establish the success criteria and performance standards that will guide AI agent behavior. They define clear accountability frameworks and ensure agent operations align with business objectives while respecting departmental needs.
Creating Your Path Forward
As your business contemplates this evolution, consider:
What institutional knowledge provides your greatest competitive advantage, and how would you systematically capture it for AI agents to leverage?
Where could AI agents most meaningfully enhance your human workforce's capabilities while preserving your company’s values?
How can you help your teams move past uncertainty about AI and start building confidence? Our guide, linked above, helps teams get started with clarity and confidence.
Answering these questions helps create a solid foundation before investing in AI agents.
Looking Ahead
Businesses that succeed in this transformation won't be those with the most advanced technology. They'll be the ones that thoughtfully prepare their people, processes, and culture for a future where human potential is amplified by artificial intelligence.
Effective AI agent integration requires more than technical expertise - it demands an understanding of organizational dynamics, change management, and our people’s potential. As you begin this journey, focus on building strong foundations in knowledge management, governance, and cross-functional collaboration. These elements are crucial as AI agents become an important part of your workforce.
About the Author
As a Success Architect at Liberated Leaders, Alan leverages 20 years of experience in technology leadership and consulting to help businesses optimize their technology strategies, gain an edge, and scale their operations. He is a twice certified executive and leadership coach who firmly believes that true business transformation can only occur with mindful investment in people and technology. Find out more about Alan on our About page.
Note: This article was 80% human generated and 20% machine (AI) generated.
