Three Types of People Who Will Thrive in the AI Agent Era, According to Tech Leaders

According to experts interviewed by ZDNET, the rise of autonomous business where AI agents handle tasks from operations to decision-making will require three types of professionals. First, tech-savvy enablers build and maintain the infrastructure for agents to work, as exemplified by Alex Read's team at EDF UK using Snowflake's CoCo coding agent. Second, agentic course correctors with deep domain knowledge ensure agents produce accurate results and intervene when needed; Stephen Wood of Rathbones Asset Management emphasizes humans must remain in the loop for oversight. Third, outcome-focused collaborators clearly define business objectives and guide agents toward those goals; Dan Cherowbrier of Formula E and Murali Swaminathan of Freshworks stress the importance of starting with desired outcomes rather than automating existing processes. Louise Newbury-Smith of Zoom adds that human-centered empowerment is key to staying relevant.