Keith: Give me a concrete example from IT support. Can you share a real case where an ambient agent caught something before a help desk did? Bhavin: Sure. Let’s say there are 10 VPN disconnects in a region. An ambient agent detects the pattern and alerts IT.
That’s hard to preprogram because the thresholds and triggers vary. Another example: an agent can guide employees to the right DRI (Directly Responsible Individual) to resolve an issue based on patterns of past resolutions.
Or it might notify a new manager about security trainings they need to complete — something that might otherwise fall through the cracks. Keith: That’s the kind of proactive “nudge” people respond to. Like a compliance reminder that doesn’t come from a no-reply email. Bhavin: Exactly.
People respond better when the reminder comes from an agent they already use. One customer saw compliance jump from 30% to 60% just by switching from email reminders to ambient agents. Keith: Wow. That’s a massive improvement. What about time-sensitive tasks like approvals? Bhavin: Great example.
One customer tracked software approvals. Before agents, it took VPs an average of 10 hours to approve. After introducing ambient agents, that time dropped to 9 minutes. It’s not just speed — it’s behavior change driven by context and helpful nudges. Keith: Right.
In my experience, some of the slowest processes are approvals for things like vacation or expenses — often buried in inboxes. Bhavin: That’s another perfect use case. The agent keeps track of requests, reminds managers, and ensures nothing falls through the cracks.
Keith: Are some industries more ready for ambient agents than others? Bhavin: It’s less about the industry and more about enterprise readiness — the systems in place and the mindset of leadership. We’ve seen success in healthcare, defense, retail, pharma, and tech.
It really comes down to whether the company is cloud-forward and already invested in automation. Keith: That makes sense. But I can hear IT folks asking: “Is this just another tool to bolt onto our existing stack?” How easy is integration? Bhavin: Ambient agents are challenging the current model.
Copilots today mostly enhance the platform they live in — like Salesforce or Microsoft. But ambient agents work across systems — Slack, Workday, Jira, ServiceNow. That requires more expansive integration but delivers far more value. Fortunately, platforms are becoming more extensible, which helps.
Keith: But that also raises privacy and security concerns. How do you manage trust and access? Bhavin: Privacy and autonomy are top of mind. Agents must respect the same enterprise rules already in place — no “god mode” access. You can’t have an agent guessing access permissions.
Access must be deterministic, based on roles, ACLs, and existing policies. Autonomy is earned over time. We advise starting with low-risk actions, like password resets. Only later should agents handle more sensitive tasks.
Keith: And if trust is built, users are more willing to give up control — especially if the agent reassures them it can restore access quickly. Bhavin: Exactly. The key is reducing friction.
If people know they can get a tool back instantly, they’re more willing to let go of unused licenses. That shift in mindset is crucial. Keith: So overall, ambient agents increase speed — and speed solves a lot of problems. Bhavin: Speed is the real game-changer.
When you act fast, you fix mistakes fast. That agility makes businesses more efficient and profitable, which fuels growth. It’s why AI is driving such a significant portion of GDP growth. Keith: Do you think ambient agents will become standardized in the next few years?
Bhavin: Not standardized in the strict IT sense. But communication protocols like MCP are becoming more common — helping LLMs access data. Some agent standards, like ATOA, are still developing. What matters is how easy it is to build useful, sophisticated agents. That’s where the competition is heating up.
Keith: What about the day-to-day experience for workers? Will people start managing agents instead of doing the work themselves? Bhavin: Potentially. It’s like conducting an orchestra of agents. But that requires maturity in systems and coordination. Not all roles will shift this way.
Many jobs involve complex decisions, collaboration, and judgment. That said, over time, more of the “work of work” will be automated. Keith: And humans don’t like change overnight. So it’ll happen gradually. Bhavin: Yes. It’s going to take time and intentional rollout.
But we’re at the beginning of a very exciting frontier. Keith: Bhavin, thank you for joining us today. This was a fascinating conversation. Bhavin: Thanks for having me, Keith.
