What Are AI Agents and Why Do Businesses Care?

AI agents are special computer programs that can understand what you want and then do complicated jobs all by themselves. Unlike regular AI tools that just give you answers, agentic AI systems can make decisions, complete multiple steps, and keep working until a task is finished. Think of them as robot workers that never get tired, never make silly mistakes, and work 24 hours a day if needed. In 2025, these AI agents moved from being experimental ideas to becoming real tools that thousands of workers use every day.

The Big Four Take the Lead

The world's biggest professional services companies—Deloitte, EY, PwC, and KPMG—are now the leaders in using agentic AI in business. Deloitte rolled out Zora AI, which is built with Nvidia and can work as a digital helper that completes tasks without human help. EY created EY.ai, an AI platform where 80,000 of their tax workers now have access to 150 different AI agents that help with data collection, reviewing documents, and following tax rules. By 2028, EY plans to have 100,000 AI agents working for the company, and they are spending more than one billion dollars every year on AI platforms.

PwC introduced its system called agent OS in March 2025, and by the end of the year had already put 25,000 intelligent agents to work for their clients. KPMG launched their KPMG Workbench with Microsoft in June, connecting 50 AI agents with nearly 1,000 more in development. These aren't small experiments—they are massive changes to how these giant firms actually do their work.

The Hiring Crisis: Fewer Jobs for New Workers

While big companies are excited about AI agents, they are making a serious change to their hiring plans. Entry-level positions have dropped by 29 percentage points since January 2024—this is a huge decrease that is affecting millions of young people looking for their first jobs. PwC, for example, planned to cut graduate hiring by one-third over three years, and the company said this decision was directly because of AI's impact.

The numbers are scary for young workers. In the first seven months of 2025 alone, 77,999 tech workers lost their jobs directly because of AI. Entry-level positions dropped 15% year over year, meaning there are fewer jobs available for people just starting their careers. Companies are thinking, "Why hire 10 junior workers when 1 AI agent can do the same work?" This is creating serious problems for new graduates and young workers.

Interestingly, this is not just happening in the United States. India's IT services companies reduced entry-level roles by 20-25% because of automation. European job platforms saw 35% declines in junior tech positions across major countries.

A New Opportunity: The AI Jobs Boom

But here is the twist—while AI is destroying many entry-level jobs, it is creating tons of new high-paying jobs for different kinds of workers. AI-related job postings jumped 25.2% in early 2025, with salaries reaching $157,000 on average. Machine learning engineers saw the biggest growth with a 41.8% year-over-year increase. These are the people who build, fix, and manage AI agents.

Companies are also looking for "AI specialists," "AI product managers," "AI ethics specialists," and "AI governance leads"—completely new job titles that did not exist just a few years ago. The Big Four have specifically created engineering career paths because they need hundreds and hundreds of engineers to work on their AI platforms.

Money Talks: The AI Skills Wage Premium

Workers with AI knowledge earn 43% more money than workers doing the same job without these skills. This massive wage increase—up from just 25% the previous year—shows how badly companies need people who understand AI. For workers willing to learn AI skills, doubling your earning potential is suddenly possible. Nearly 100,000 EY employees—about one-quarter of their entire workforce—have already earned a digital "AI badge" by completing AI learning programs.

How Businesses Are Preparing Their Teams

The Big Four understand that their current workers need to adapt or be left behind. EY rolled out an AI tool that helps employees figure out how their jobs will change and how they can use AI better in their current positions. Smart companies are not just replacing workers—they are training existing employees to work alongside AI agents.

But training is tricky. When KPMG trained its tax interns about AI, leaders discovered that the most effective use of AI depends on asking the right questions—a skill humans need to learn. You cannot just turn on AI and hope for the best. Someone needs to guide the AI agent, check its work, and make sure everything is correct.

The Bigger Picture: How Work Itself Is Changing

The actual work that consultants and accountants do is transforming completely. Instead of solving one problem quickly, companies are now building long-term partnerships where consultants use AI agents to build, set up, and maintain tools for clients. This is a huge change in how businesses operate.

EY's global leader said that AI agents are forcing companies to reconsider how they charge customers. Instead of paying by the hour for work, companies might pay based on results—like paying only if the AI agent successfully completes the goal. This means the business model itself is changing, not just the tools.

PwC's technology leader explained that in 2025, companies are fitting AI around their old ways of working, but in 2026, they want to "flip the model" and design everything with AI in mind from the start.

What This Means for Businesses Everywhere

Half of employers plan to completely reorganize their business to take advantage of AI. Two-thirds plan to hire people with specific AI skills, while 40% expect to reduce their total workforce where AI can do the work. One MIT study found that 11.7% of all jobs could already be automated with AI technology that exists right now.

Business leaders are also warning that some companies might use "AI" as an excuse for layoffs they were planning anyway—blaming the technology instead of admitting to bad decisions. However, for companies that successfully use AI agents well, the promise is higher productivity, faster work, and happier clients.

The reality for 2026 is complicated. There are big opportunities for workers who learn AI skills, but serious challenges for those who don't adapt. For businesses, the race is on to figure out how to use AI agents effectively while keeping their best people.