What is AI Agents?
AI agents are software that uses AI models to plan and carry out tasks toward a goal, often by calling other software tools, with less step-by-step prompting than a chatbot.
Why does AI Agents matter for marketers?
Agents change the unit of marketing work from a task a person does with a tool to an outcome a person supervises, which changes staffing, governance and pricing.
Where does AI Agents stand today?
In 2026 vendors are shipping marketing agents: Salesforce's marketing agents on Agentforce (June 2026), HubSpot's Prospecting and Customer agents priced per outcome (April 2026), and Yext's agent platform. Many are pilots, and customer results are mostly vendor-reported.
Common use cases
- Prospecting and lead qualification
- Campaign creation and management
- Customer service resolution
AI agents are software that uses AI models to plan and carry out tasks toward a goal, often by calling other software tools, with less step-by-step prompting than a chatbot.