The Rise of Agentic AI

Hello, I’m Kevin - a financial advisor who helps tech professionals and their families live great lives.

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Overview

I thought agentic AI meant annoying chat bots.

I’ve worked with ChatGPT as a thinking partner. However, I hadn’t thought to treat it like an assistant!

Agentic AI

“Bad customer service” is what I thought when I heard “agentic AI.”

Some bots simply regurgitate information from the company’s website.

These “chats” can be one step removed from phone decision trees:

• Press 1 to hear your account balance.

• Press 2 to make a payment…

I get how these systems help companies. Self-service saves money.

However, it shifts work from corporations to customers.

If customer effort rises and costs stay the same, perceived value falls. A bot has to outperform humans to improve the experience.

My AI Journey

My use of Artificial Intelligence has shifted from:

1. knowledge accelerator to

2. content editor to

3. thinking partner.

1. Knowledge Accelerator

My first trips into the AI forest were for knowledge-gathering. AI is great at surfacing known things like recipes and how-to manuals.

Onboarding

However, AI really got my attention when a family member told me a story.

She asked it for details about her new job. The AI response nearly perfectly matched what she’d learned from conversations with coworkers.

That’s a game-changer!

AI can shrink the time and effort needed to come up to speed. It can also reduce how much time tenured employees spend training newer ones.

Mentorship becomes less important when someone can get the information on their own.

Patchy

Of course, they only get the information they seek.

This can lead to patchy knowledge. They might:

• learn a lot about some things and

• have gaping holes in others.

Lonelier

Deep learning is great. It also eliminates opportunities for people to:

• connect,

• build trust, and

• support each other.

Sparse Specifics

Of course, I had to try it on my business!

I asked an AI chatbot what it recommends T-Mobile employees do for their finances.

The response was senseless.

It was overly generic, missed key points, and had inaccuracies. What it got right, it misprioritized.

Aggregators know a lot. However, they often lack clarity.

They’re information rich and knowledge poor.

2. Content Editor

My next step was to have AI double-check my work.

I created content on a topic. Then, I asked ChatGPT what it thought was most important about the subject.

• Did I miss anything?

• Did it?

• Do I like how it explained something?

I also asked it to improve what I’d written.

However, the responses were about twice as long and added little meaning. AI was wordy.

3. Thinking Partner

I’ve started to treat AI as a thinking partner.

For instance, it helps me create headlines:

• I tell it my topic and ask for suggestions.

• Then, I sift through the results to see what resonates with me.

• I give the bot feedback… and ask for more ideas.

It takes a load off.

Part of my work has shifted from:

• always creating to

• creating, selecting, and fine-tuning.

It’s a nice balance, and produces better work.

A New Way: Assistant

Allison Baggerly of Inspired Budget changed my perspective with her FinCon 2025 presentation: “How AI Saves Me 10+ Hours Each Week.”

We actually met as she was walking in to present! My friend Penny introduced us on our way back from lunch.

The room was full - very full. Here’s a picture I took from the second standing row in the back!

There’s a reason. Allison may be using AI better than anyone else.

Knowledge Base

Allison added everything she’s created to her Google Drive.

She calls it her Knowledge Base and likes to say:

“I downloaded my brain!”

That includes her:

• blogs,

• social media posts,

• book manuscript,

• video transcripts,

• emails that performed well,

• products and offers,

• questions from customers…

Everything she creates goes into her Knowledge Base.

First Assistant: Email Triage

Allison hates how much time she spends on email.

Once her Knowledge Base was in place, she created a project in ChatGPT to scan her inbox. She uses the project as her agent, her assistant.

Her Email Triage assistant decides what she should:

• read and respond to now,

• prioritize for today, and

• mark as spam or promotion.

If she needs to reply, she clicks a button in ChatGPT that:

1. opens Gmail and

2. drafts a reply.

This system allows her to only send emails at 8am and 2pm. She has time to pick up her kids from school.

Second Assistant: Creative Sidekick

Allison created another assistant to capture her ideas on the go.

She named it Charles.

Using speech to text, she has “conversations” with Charles. These might be when she’s walking around the yard or neighborhood!

Listen, Charles. We’ve got to talk about:

1. this,

2. that, and

3. the other.

Then, her Creative Sidekick:

• asks follow-up questions,

• organizes her ideas, and

• creates content-ready copy.

The best thing? It uses her inputs and content!

Her words. Her ideas. Her voice.

They’re just repurposed for the task at hand.

She leverages AI support for her:

• newsletter,

• social media posts,

• scripts, and

• video shorts.

Third Assistant: Support Rep

Allison also created a support specialist. Its purpose is to respond to customer questions.

She:

• gave it screen shots of her sales pages,

• created a PDF so it knows what to do, and

• defined its role carefully.

Now, it drafts responses she can quickly review and send customers.

Thoughts on the Future

I’m convinced this is the wave of the future.

It’s my next step with AI:

1. Knowledge accelerator

2. Content editor

3. Thinking partner

4. Assistant

If a tool can do anything, the only constraint is our imagination.

I hadn’t dreamed big enough.

Assistants

Allison is proof that a solopreneur can build an army of AI assistants.

Her system streamlines development and automates manual tasks.

Businesses that previously needed several staff members might thrive with one owner and AI. Amazingly profitable small businesses could become the norm.

However, the demand for human assistants may fall. The best will lean into this opportunity.

Coaching

People will need help developing AI assistants.

Early adopters will likely coach others. The value is so great that experts should be able to charge hefty premiums.

Niche

Industry-specific versions will likely come next.

Organizations

Businesses and nonprofits will upload and add to their extensive knowledge bases.

Imagine all franchise owners leveraging the same AI systems. The speed and consistency could be amazing!

Professions

Each industry group may create its own AI tools.

A CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional version of AI could be extremely helpful. Daily tasks can benefit from world-class templates, verbiage, and processes.

Embedded

Software will likely continue to incorporate AI where possible.

Email suggestions are just the start. Website content may come next.

AI may be empowered to make purchases. Top-rated services could get very busy in a winner-take-all setting.

Content

Good copy may be table stakes.

Any writing that isn’t clear will be dismissed as lazy.

Security

I’m not granting AI access to my email anytime soon! Too much sensitive information flows through my inbox.

However, other people may take a different approach.

Collaboration

Toward the end of the conference, another attendee mentioned this year felt less collaborative.

I think some folks left the conference more excited to work with AI than with other people!

Human connection is inefficient.

It’s also essential… and under constant attack.

Conclusion

Agentic AI is a powerful tool - and one I ignored far too long. It’s worth a look for anyone who wants to improve their efficiency.

However, it has pitfalls. Please consider the security and human impacts before using it.

Hey, thanks for reading my article about agentic AI!

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Disclaimer

In addition to the usual disclaimers, neither this post nor these images include any financial, tax, or legal advice.