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US and Canadian Companies Adopt AI Agents to Automate Office Tasks

A growing number of companies in the US and Canada are introducing AI agents to automate routine tasks in their offices. Engineers at Snowflake, a cloud-based data platform, have seen significant changes since implementing AI agents last year. The technology has enabled engineers to focus on higher-level decisions, with AI agents handling tasks such as scanning dashboards and reviewing product design.

According to Qaiser Habib, the company’s Toronto-based head of Canada engineering, five AI agents are currently interacting with him for 20-30 hours a week. Snowflake has developed agents to assist on-call engineers during outages or incidents, as well as to carry out coding projects under human supervision.

The use of AI agents is transforming office hierarchies across the US and Canada. Unlike chatbots, which respond to prompts, AI agents can adapt to changing contexts and draw on reference tools such as calendars and internal databases. In some workplaces, AI systems are not only completing tasks but also assigning them to human workers.

As companies continue to experiment with AI agents, concerns about job replacement are growing. Anthropic recently expanded access to its cowork agents, allowing users without technical expertise to grant permission for autonomous file management. The use of AI agents is being felt across various industries, including those that don’t focus on building technology products.

Some companies are using AI tools to track performance, recommend promotions, and identify roles for elimination. This shift comes as white-collar jobs continue to disappear in the US, with several employers announcing mass layoffs. Amazon, UPS, Target, General Motors, Pinterest, and HP have all cited AI initiatives as part of their reasons for cutting jobs.

Goldman Sachs estimates that 6-7% of US workers could lose their jobs due to AI adoption, with higher risks for certain professions such as computer programmers and customer service representatives.

Source: Al Jazeera