AI is growing and developing everyday, with new products, software and features appearing faster than ever before. But that doesn’t mean you can’t catch up. In fact, it’s now easier to get up to speed on the latest in AI, as you don’t need to be a coder, developer or tech whizz to use it! 

In this blog post, we’re going to talk about one of the most prominent AI technologies in 2026 – AI agents. We discuss what they are and how you can implement them into your business for everyday use.

The basics

The time has come for us to stop using AI and start working with it. As scary of a thought as that might be for some, AI can now be utilisied within businesses to fulfill the tasks that many don’t have time to complete. This is the tech that does the work while you sleep.

While AI agent might sound like just another bit of jargon, it’s so much more, and it’s not another GPT. So, how is it different and why is it non-negotiable for businesses in 2026? 

Let’s look at AI using the analogy of a toolkit. For example, ChatGPT is your hammer, and it only hits if you’re the one using it. You need to give it a specific prompt, telling the chatbot exactly what you need, how to execute it, and in what format. That might be writing a blog post, suggesting edits to an email, or even finding a recipe for the perfect pasta bake.

Moving onto the next tool in your kit – AI workflows. This is like the hammering machine. It can be automated, and can give you a different result, but it still needs a human to program it and tell it what to do. So say you wanted to receive an email every morning with the latest news stories. You can create a workflow for this, starting with a prompt that scans news websites for the most viewed stories, then summarises them into digestible snippets. This can then be copied into an email and sent to your inbox every morning, all without your interference. 

It sounds complex, and possibly similar to an AI agent, but the key thing to remember is that you still need to give it a specific prompt in order for it to work.

AI agents – what makes them different?

An AI agent can do everything a workflow can do, but without the human input. Rather than specifically telling the AI how to do the task you need it to (like in the workflow example), you simply ask the AI agent to do a task, and it figures out the best way to do it on its own. Giving AI complete control can be daunting, but in 2026, it’s the way many businesses are operating.

The AI agent is able to do this because you give it the reasoning, access to data, tools and memory. Let’s break it down. An AI agent works in a loop:

  • Perceive – it looks at the data (your emails, your calendar, etc…)
  • Plan – it decides the steps needed to reach the goal
  • Act – it uses tools, like sending a message or updating a spreadsheet
  • Evaluate – it checks to see if the task was done correctly and repeats if necessary

Going back to your tool kit, you’ve now employed someone to do the hammering for you. It’s up to them to figure out the best way to do it, and understand when the task is done.

How can you use an AI agent?

If you’re starting to look at your to-do list and thinking, “I could do with an AI agent”, then you’re not alone. Solo businesses and entrepreneurs aren’t operating on their own anymore. They’re agent-orchestrated. AI agents are handling:

  • Customer support – not just FAQs, but actually processing things like returns and checking shipping statuses autonomously
  • Lead gen – finding prospects on LinkedIn, researching their company, and drafting personalised outreach
  • Operations – managing your calendar across 3 time zones, rescheduling meetings, and detecting when you’re overbooked

And this is just the tip of the iceberg. There are now AI agents who can plan and implement marketing and social campaigns for you, update your website in line with business or industry changes, and send out emails to customers when you release a new product or service. The possibilities for what an AI agent can do for you are truly endless.

Is it too late to start?

The simple answer – no. In fact, it’s easier than ever to use AI agents to help your business grow. In the early days of AI, you had to be a coder to build an agent. But now, you can build an AI agent workflow using natural language. It doesn’t have to be complicated, stressful, or add work to your pile.

What next?

Now that you know what an AI agent is, think about how you can incorporate it into your business to take care of those tasks that are clogging up your to-do list. Pick one task you do every day that takes more than 20 minutes, and let this be the first candidate for an AI agent. 

If you want more information or guidance on AI agents, head over to our YouTube channel. We’ve got loads of useful guides, and plenty more coming up!

And of course, if you ever need help with any of our products or services, our Support Team is available 24/7. Give us a call on 0333 0142 700, or message us via live chat.