The most advanced phones on the market promise to simplify your life with new generative AI features, such as writing texts, creating images from instructions, and removing unwanted objects from photos. Now, the tech industry is aiming for the next generation of artificial intelligence, and companies are starting to hype up what are called agent-AI – AI agents that will cater to your needs. These agents, the companies say, will change how we use our devices with new suggestions, recommendations and ways to act as a “bonus brain.”“

In short, the makers of your phone and other tech devices claim that AI agents will be advanced versions of Siri and other voice assistants. They will be able to take in data from apps, personal information, and web searches to provide more detailed answers. It's about smarter AI that is expected to deliver on promises that today's assistants can't, such as anticipating needs and understanding complex questions.

Companies that Qualcomm and MediaTek has already included AI agents in its forecasts for the coming years, and mentioned the technology when they presented their new top processors ahead of the upcoming premium Android phones.

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Lari Hämäläinen, senior partner and analyst at McKinsey & Company, explains that AI agents are about automating and creating convenience in people’s lives. “They should be contextualized to you and your needs and provide advice based on your everyday life – your schedule, your needs and so on,” says Hämäläinen.

Generative AI, which launched on premium phones late last year with Google Pixel 8 and was followed by Samsung Galaxy S24series and iPhones 15 and 16, has had a big impact. In the coming years, generative AI is expected to spread to cheaper devices and is expected to be a feature on about 70% of all phones by 2028, according to a new study. IDC report. But even though Google and other big companies are working on techniques that could lead to AI agents, we have not yet seen them on a broad front.

Google is working on its Project Astra, which uses phone cameras and smart glasses to recognize objects, which could be a first step towards AI agents. The company also recently unveiled its augmented reality headset, Project Moohan, which uses AR and AI to help users navigate the world. This technology could prepare users for a future where they rely on AI to help with questions and tasks.

But despite all the promise, AI agents are still mostly an idea. The technology has yet to truly integrate into people's lives, and while AI tools like ChatGPT and Midjourney are widely used, they haven't become part of the workforce on a broad scale.

AI Agents: Future Digital Assistants

As a future technology, AI agents do not yet have a precise definition, but experts predict that they will be able to do more than today’s voice assistants like Siri and Google Assistant, which only answer simple questions. AI agents can handle more complex tasks and even collaborate with other AI agents to perform tasks on your behalf. This means that it may be a few years before the technology finds its “killer app,” but development is on the way.

When I first heard about AI agents, it was from MediaTek that described its Dimensity 9400 mobile processor, which includes an Agentic AI Engine. This doesn't mean that phones with this chip will automatically have AI agents, but it does give developers the tools to create their own AI agents and applications. These can use personal data and predict the user's needs to help them take action, such as by reminding them of important tasks based on their regular routines.

Qualcomm, which is also a major player in the chip manufacturing market, has talked about how AI agents could change our habits. They envision a future where AI is constantly running in the background, predicting our next steps and delivering solutions before we even ask for them. Qualcomm believes that AI agents could replace apps and do the work for us, where we simply ask questions and get answers instantly.

But a key question is how much information AI agents need to make decisions on our behalf. For us to trust them, they need to understand our preferences and be able to make decisions that we agree with. This poses not only technical challenges but also personal and cultural aspects that need to be taken into account.

AI agents in the cars of the future

While generative AI has only recently begun to spread to consumer gadgets, tech companies have been investing in automotive AI for years. The most prominent example is self-driving cars, but now people are also starting to think about how AI agents can be integrated into cars to improve the user experience.

Qualcomm presented new autofocus chips at the Snapdragon Summit, and announced that companies like Mercedes Benz and Li Auto will use these in their future models. AI agents can help customize features for each passenger, and in the long term, they can make the car even more intelligent, for example by anticipating our needs and helping with everyday tasks like booking dinner based on our preferences.

But the question is whether AI agents will truly be a central part of the in-car experience. There are skeptics who believe that people don't spend enough time in their cars for AI agents to be a natural part of this environment.

AI agents and the phones of the future

While generative AI is gradually being integrated into phones, its applications have so far been limited to text generation, improved voice assistants, and photo editing. But AI agents have potential to change the way we interact with our phones. They could help us handle more complex tasks, like creating travel plans and keeping track of schedules.

But there's no exact timeline for when AI agents will become mainstream. There are still technical hurdles to overcome, especially when it comes to improving mobile chips and developing larger language models. In addition, companies like Qualcomm and OpenAI have to cope with the enormous demand from millions of phone users every day.

At the Snapdragon Summit, Qualcomm discussed how augmented reality can play a role in AI agents of the future, especially when combined with AR glasses. However, it is still uncertain when these interfaces will become common. For now, it seems that we will get used to using voice commands and rely more on AI-powered features in our phones.

Ultimately, it's about making the device experience more automated, and it's possible that we'll end up asking our phones questions in a way that feels natural and efficient.