agentic
adjective
| uh-JEN-tik
Able to accomplish results with autonomy, used especially in reference to artificial intelligence
What does agentic mean?
Agentic refers to someone or something capable of achieving outcomes independently (“functioning like an agent”) or possessing such ability, means, or power (“having agency"). It is especially used with a type of artificial intelligence (AI), often referred to as an AI agent, designed to execute complex tasks autonomously or with little human involvement. In social sciences, agentic is more specifically used to describe people’s self-assertive behaviors or actions directed towards individual accomplishment, status, and independence.
Examples of agentic
You've heard the buzz about agentic AI—autonomous, adaptable, and ready to tackle complex, multi-step tasks. But how much of it is real, and how much is just hype?
—Kathleen Perley, LinkedIn, 20 Nov. 2024
Agentic AI goes beyond simple prompt-and-response chatbots and content generation to provide more sophisticated, interactive and autonomous AI agents that can act on behalf of users …
—Agentic workflows are structured processes that allow AI to handle complex tasks by breaking them into smaller, manageable parts.
—In what we call agentic feedback, teachers provide opportunities for students to independently revise their work, making the student an active partner in the revision process rather than a passive recipient of feedback.
—Agentic narcissism is a personality trait characterized by self-centered focus on one’s personal achievements, success, and dominance in social interactions, often at the expense of others.
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Where does agentic come from?
Agentic is formed from the noun agent, “one that exerts power” or “something that can produce an effect,” and the adjective suffix, -ic.
In reference to artificial intelligence, the word has been used since the 2010s, gaining prominence in 2024 following developments in technology. Here, agentic is based on the specific use of agent to refer to computer applications designed to automate certain tasks. Technological advances in the 2020s engineered AI agents programmed to carry out increasingly sophisticated forms of automation. The capabilities of such AI are often described in the terms of human agency: making decisions, taking actions, solving problems, reasoning, etc., on its own. An agentic AI, for example, might be designed to receive and resolve a customer service issue, such as refunding money or resetting a password, without any human oversight in any step of the process.
Earlier uses of agentic can be found in chemistry and social sciences based on specialized senses of the word agent or agency in those disciplines. In chemistry, starting in the 1800s and with some usage up to the mid-to-late 1900s, agentic described certain chemical agents (e.g., agentic oxide) involved in reactions. In psychology, sociology, and related fields starting especially in the latter half of the 1900s, agentic has characterized behaviors, personality traits, emotional states, etc., seen as motivated by individualistic desires for mastery, success, and power.
How is agentic used?
Agentic is primarily used today as a technical term, in reference to AI agents and their applications. It is still used in social sciences (although less widely), especially as influenced by the work of American psychologist David Bakan (1921–2004), for certain kinds of self-seeking or self-assertive behaviors, especially in contrast to relationship-building ones (which are described as communal). Agentic is also specifically associated with the work of American psychologist Stanley Milgram (1933–1984), who used the word in reference to a psychological state where people are compelled to act on behalf of authority figures.
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