"As the Trump administration shrinks the federal workforce, the private sector is developing artificial intelligence that could fill in gaps - specifically, agentic AI, technology that can take action without precise instructions. The "agentic enterprise," where humans work alongside AI agents, was the theme of Salesforce's annual conference last week. Currently, it's largely a hypothetical in the federal context. Agencies don't have Salesforce-powered agents in production, and what exactly counts as an AI agent is debatable, as the term is used to describe systems with varying degrees of autonomy."
""I think government will be the largest users of agentic technologies of any industry," said Paul Tatum, executive vice president of Salesforce's global public sector sections, told Nextgov/FCW. Dozens of federal customers are piloting Salesforce agents, he said, predicting deployments within three to six months. Last week, the software company announced its new platform for agentic AI, which includes voice-enabled agents that can automate customer service interactions like phone calls using natural language processing, offering more conversational interactions instead of rigid phone trees."
"The Trump administration may be willing to use agents, given its pro-AI stance combined with restrictions in many parts of the federal workforce and budget. The exact effects of agents, including the potential for displacement, remain to be seen. But the federal government's chief information officer, Gregory Barbaccia, has already said that AI "is the number one thing that is going to help people mitigate the staffing shortages," pointing to automation as the "holy grail" for the federal government. The federal workforce will be 300,000 employees smaller by the end of the year, the head of the Office of Personnel Management, Scott Kupor, has said."
Federal workforce reductions are prompting private-sector development of agentic AI that can act without precise instructions and work alongside humans. Salesforce promoted the "agentic enterprise" and reported federal pilots but no Salesforce-powered agents are yet in production. Definitions of AI agents vary based on autonomy levels. Salesforce executives expect deployments within months and announced a platform with voice-enabled agents for more conversational customer service. The administration's pro-AI stance and budget and staffing constraints increase willingness to adopt agents. Federal officials identify AI and automation as key tools to mitigate staffing shortages amid large planned workforce cuts.
Read at Nextgov.com
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