Microsoft pitches AI ‘agents’ that can perform tasks on their own at Ignite 2024

CHICAGO (AP) — Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is opening a company conference in Chicago with remarks that could set the stage for where it’s taking its artificial intelligence business. AI developers are increasingly pitching the next wave of generative AI chatbots as AI ‘agents’ that can do more useful things on people’s behalf. But the cost of building and running AI tools is so high that more investors are questioning whether the technology’s promise is overblown. Microsoft said last month that it’s preparing for a world in which “every organization will have a constellation of agents — ranging from simple prompt-and-response to fully autonomous.”