What is Agentic AI?

What is agentic AI?

Agentic AI refers to AI systems that can autonomously plan and execute multi-step tasks, use tools, and make decisions without human intervention at each step. Examples include coding agents, research agents, and customer service agents.

Agent Capabilities

Planning: Break complex tasks into steps
Tool use: Call APIs, search, execute code
Memory: Maintain context across interactions
Reflection: Evaluate and correct own outputs

Agent Risks

Autonomy introduces new failure modes:

Cascading errors: One mistake propagates through steps
Unintended actions: Agents may take unexpected paths
Resource abuse: Infinite loops, excessive API calls
Security: Prompt injection can hijack agent behavior

Monitoring Agents

Track each step in multi-step workflows
Detect hallucinations before they cascade
Monitor tool calls and their results
Set guardrails to block dangerous actions

Why monitor AI agents?

Agents make multiple decisions autonomously, compounding error risk. A single hallucination can cascade through subsequent steps. Monitor each step to catch issues before they propagate and cause larger failures.