Mark Kelly
Founder, AI Ireland
AI agents are no longer a distant concept; they are becoming deeply embedded in our personal and professional lives. The time to understand, prepare and embrace this autonomous future is now.
It’s clear that AI agents — autonomous systems capable of executing tasks on behalf of users — are emerging as the next frontier. Some see them as a leap too far, while others celebrate their rapid progress. In July 2025, OpenAI introduced ChatGPT Agent mode — a blend of deep research and operator — that can research, browse, click and type on its own to complete end-to-end tasks while pausing for your permission on consequential actions.
AI reshapes procurement efficiency
The power of these agents is already being demonstrated in real business scenarios. Walmart, for instance, harnessed Pactum’s outsourced negotiating tool to engage 100 ‘tail-end’ suppliers.
What’s new is that general-purpose agents like ChatGPT Agent can now run comparable multi-step workflows (market and competitor research, form-filling, spreadsheet updates) and turn results into editable slides or sheets, still under human sign-off. This efficiency dramatically redefines what’s possible in procurement.
The power of these agents
is already being demonstrated
in real business scenarios.
The ‘5 Ps’ framework for AI adoption
Yet, introducing AI isn’t straightforward. Our work at AI Ireland, with companies from Donegal to Galway and Dublin, consistently highlights a critical hurdle: many digital transformations stall because leadership teams don’t know where to start, getting stuck in a ‘strategy loop’ rather than executing.
This is where my ‘5 Ps’ framework for successful AI adoption provides clarity: People (supercharging staff with AI literacy); Process (streamlining standard operations); Product (embedding AI to remove customer friction), Proprietary data (leveraging unique information); and a safe Place to experiment.
For small and medium enterprises, unburdened by legacy systems, there’s a distinct advantage in cultivating this AI-ready mentality. Start with permission-gated pilots: enable Agent mode, scope a task and require confirmations for purchases or emails; you can interrupt or redirect any time.
AI agents near reality
AI agents are no longer hypothetical. As of July 17, 2025, ChatGPT Agent mode is live and can plan travel, compile competitive analyses and assemble outputs into slides and spreadsheets — asking before key actions, so oversight stays with humans.
