AI agents are coming – and they’re not here to wait for your instructions
At a recent Sheffield event hosted at The Victoria by DeeperThanBlue and IBM, local business leaders explored how this new wave of autonomous digital workers is reshaping everything from HR to Hollywood. Ready or not, the age of Agentic AI is here – and it’s time to get ahead of the curve.
But first – what is an AI agent?
Let’s dig a little deeper…
SO… WHY SHOULD YOU CARE?
Imagine a brilliant assistant who never sleeps and gets smarter every week. AI agents are intelligent software that think ahead and act independently – unlike basic chatbots that just answer questions.
They observe your business systems, analyse patterns, then take action: drafting follow-up emails to neglected clients, predicting stock shortages, or flagging urgent issues. For businesses of all sizes, they’re like having a tireless team member handling routine tasks brilliantly, freeing you to focus on growth.
Here’s how businesses are using them
HR procedures – AI agents can onboard new employees, schedule interviews and manage leave requests, freeing up HR teams for more strategic work.
Customer support – Available 24/7, they handle enquiries, resolve issues and escalate complex cases as needed.
Finance – From processing invoices to forecasting budgets, AI agents speed up financial workflows and reduce errors.
Quality control – In production environments, agents monitor data in real time and flag inconsistencies before they become problems.
Lead generation – They identify potential customers, personalise outreach and follow up automatically.
AGENTIC AI IN ACTION: TAKEAWAYS FROM THE EVENT
DeeperThanBlue’s Chris Booker and Stephen Birch opened with a year-in-review for AI. Chris called 2025 “the year of agentic”, highlighting how these digital co-workers are no longer just a concept but a fast-emerging reality.
Quoting figures from IDC (International Data Corporation), Chris noted that by 2028, we could see one billion new AI and low-code applications in use. He explained that AI agents differ from traditional assistants by working independently: they can connect with other systems, remember long-term goals and collaborate with other agents to complete complex tasks.
“Agents act more like a digital employee than a passive assistant,” Chris said. “They operate based on intent and context, not just commands.”
FROM DOUBT TO CONFIDENCE: BRIDGING THE GAP
Carolyn Shepherd, founder of Emmeline.AI, shared her thoughts on why AI isn’t yet delivering on its full promise. Her view? “People need to catch up.”
She highlighted the human barriers to AI adoption – not lack of tools, but a lack of confidence. “Most people don’t give much thought to business processes, and many don’t even know what questions to ask AI tools.”
Her advice was simple: start small. “Ask yourself: what’s one task that drains you? Then ask AI how it could help reduce or automate that task.”
Carolyn likened the future of AI to electricity: an invisible force that powers everything, but which we don’t overthink. “You wouldn’t ask, ‘What’s your electricity strategy?’ AI will become just as embedded – so focus on the outcomes you want.”
HOLLYWOOD MEETS AI – FROM SHEFFIELD
For a real-world use case, Duncan Payne, Head of Software Engineering at ZOO Digital, shared how their team worked with the University of Sheffield to tackle a unique dubbing challenge. Due to legal limits on how long child actors can work, ZOO used AI to convert adult voices into child-like speech – a breakthrough that’s set to shake up localisation work across film and TV.
This isn’t about replacing humans, Duncan said, but enhancing workflows. “Skilled talent remains crucial – but AI creates new roles and possibilities.”
IBM’S VISION: DIGITAL COLLEAGUES, NOT JUST TOOLS
Mark Ketteman, Solutions Engineer at IBM, offered a glimpse of what Agentic AI looks like at enterprise scale. IBM’s internal AskHR system, for example, handles 94% of employee HR queries, freeing up staff for more human-centred work.
He also demonstrated watsonx Orchestrate, an AI-powered digital worker that handled web scraping and multilingual customer service in real time – all in under five minutes.
For Mark, this moment in tech feels like a déjà vu of the 1990s internet boom: “We’re at an inflection point. Back then, people said they’d never sell online – and look where we are now.”
THE JOURNEY STARTS HERE
Louisa Harrison-Walker OBE, CEO of Sheffield Chamber of Commerce, summed it up perfectly: “AI, harnessed correctly, can help SMEs grow, scale and accelerate productivity.”
Robert Lawley of Business Sheffield echoed this, adding that the council is updating its support and workshop content to help local businesses navigate the opportunities and challenges AI presents.
The key message? Start small, measure impact and scale up. Sheffield is already making moves – and AI agents may well be the city’s next big productivity boost.
To find out more about Agentic AI for your business, head to deeperthanblue.co.uk.
Stripping back the biggest business stories – what happened, who’s involved and why it matters to our region.
What’s the story?
A Taiwanese advanced manufacturing company called Walsin Lihwa (WL) announced a major investment that boosts the UK’s steel industry and advanced manufacturing sector. Hundreds of high-skilled jobs are to be created in Sheffield as result.
What will it look like?
A new superalloy forging facility will be established, and a research and development centre and come through an upgrade of its existing Special Melted Products (SMP) factory in the city.
Once the forging facility is established, WL have also set out plans to set up a research and development centre in the UK in the next phase, later in the decade.
This will focus on strengthening the company’s capabilities in materials and digital technology innovation and contributing to a growing aerospace and defence cluster in South Yorkshire.
Who's involved?
The Investment Minister, Baroness Gustafsson, attended the site with WL’s Chairman, Yu-Lon Chiao, to celebrate the investment and to hear more about the company’s plans for UK growth.
Gustafsson said: “This investment is a major vote of confidence in Sheffield’s world-class manufacturing sector and couldn’t match our ambitions better.”
What does this mean for Sheffield?
It will create over 200 jobs by 2028 in the first phase, with expertise in manufacturing operations, welding, melting, metallurgy, engineering, machining, material science, data analytics, and other high value career opportunities.
The investment will introduce new melting and superalloy forging capabilities – a new strategic manufacturing capability to the UK – which will reduce domestic producers’, such as Rolls Royce, reliance on imports.
These capabilities will aid the UK’s aspirations in aerospace, steel, nuclear and defence as set out in the modern Industrial Strategy, contribute resilience towards supply shocks and will help grow Sheffield’s manufacturing sector, which was valued at £1.4bn in 2023.
