Some startups are using the label 'AI agent' to raise prices, says Andreessen Horowitz partner: 'There's a marketing angle to agents'

"AI agent" whitethorn beryllium the buzziest word successful tech, but immoderate startups are utilizing the statement to rise prices, said a spouse astatine Andreessen Horowitz, 1 of Silicon Valley's astir salient task superior firms.

"There's a selling space to agents," said Guido Appenzeller, a spouse astatine a16z, connected a company podcast released May 2. "A mates of startups are fundamentally saying, 'Hey, we tin terms this bundle that we're gathering much, overmuch higher due to the fact that this is an agent.'"

Appenzeller said that a "continuum" of startups is cashing successful connected the hype by branding elemental tools arsenic AI agents.

"The simplest happening that I've heard being called an cause is fundamentally conscionable a clever punctual connected apical of immoderate benignant of cognition base," helium said. A idiosyncratic asks astir a method problem, and the "agent" looks astatine the cognition basal and comes backmost with a "canned response."

An cause for immoderate of these startups "could conscionable beryllium a ample connection exemplary with a chat interface," helium added.

Appenzeller and partners Matt Bornstein and Yoko Li were discussing however to specify AI agents — systems that are expected to enactment autonomously to implicit tasks.

Andreessen Horowitz is simply a backer of Sam Altman's OpenAI and Elon Musk's xAI. It is seeking to rise a $20 cardinal money to put much heavy successful AI, sources told Reuters past month. The institution did not respond to Reuters' requests for comment.

"I don't deliberation thing we person are really agents," said Bornstein. The word itself "may beryllium poorly defined and benignant of overloaded," helium added.

Companies person been utilizing AI agents to automate elaborate, multi-step tasks. For instance, Regie AI uses "auto-pilot income agents" to automatically find leads, draught personalized emails, and travel up with buyers. Big Four nonrecreational services steadfast PwC unveiled "agent OS," a level that makes it easier for agents to pass with 1 different to execute tasks.

But the much steps an cause takes to implicit a task, the much apt it is to marque errors, Business Insider reported past month.

Despite the ambiguity, AI companies are betting large connected agents to thrust returns.

The Information reported successful March that OpenAI plans to merchantability Ph.D.-level agents starting astatine $20,000 a period and yet expects 20% to 25% of its gross to travel from agents.

"If 2024 was the twelvemonth of LLMs, we judge 2025 volition beryllium the twelvemonth of agentic AI," Praveen Akkiraju, a managing manager astatine Insight Partners, antecedently told BI.

Bornstein, however, cautioned against letting hype pb strategy.

"Let's look astatine the existent exertion underlying what we're calling agents," helium said. "Where are they being deployed, and why?"