This weekly update covers exciting developments in business automation powered by AI agents. These are computer programs that can think, make decisions, and complete tasks without someone telling them what to do every step of the way.

Major AI Agent Releases: Companies released powerful new tools in late December 2025. Nvidia announced Nemotron 3, which helps companies build their own AI agents that can work together on complicated jobs. Meta, the company that owns Facebook, spent over $2 billion to buy Manus, a company that specializes in making AI agents that work independently. These agents will help businesses automate work across sales, coding, and supply chain operations.

New Features for Businesses: Microsoft introduced a Sales Agent that helps sales teams by suggesting the best customers to contact and creating proposals automatically. Microsoft also updated Copilot Studio, making it easier for companies to build their own AI agents that fit their specific needs.

The Big Shift in 2026: The biggest change happening this year is moving away from chatbots that wait for questions to autonomous AI agents that complete tasks on their own. Instead of humans asking questions, these agents will proactively do work like handling customer phone calls, reviewing code, and managing supply chains. However, experts say AI will work alongside humans, not replace them. Companies are expected to hire more people for new jobs like AI safety and data management.