Agentic AI is the next big thing in the marketing world: GroupM South Asia CSO

Mumbai: Artificial intelligence (AI) seems to be donning the omnipresent title soon. The widespread adoption of large language models in various sectors, including marketing, is evident. According to Parthasarathy Mandayam, Chief Strategy Officer - South Asia, GroupM, Agentic AI is a strong transformative force in the realm of marketing. 

Speaking at the launch of the TYNY report by GroupM, Mandayam elaborated on the role of Agentic AI, “not as an enabler, but as a decision-maker.” 

Agentic AI is a form of artificial intelligence that is focused on decision-making and action-taking, rather than creating content like generative AIs do. 

Speaking on these lines, Mandayam highlighted two waves in which Agentic AI can take precedence in the world of marketing. 

The first wave, Mandayam said, is already upon us. “Some of the functions of agentic AI - workflow management, reporting, basic content creation - are already well on their way,” Mandayam said. 

He added, “The second wave will arrive towards the second half of this year and eventually go further into the future. I think we can see a lot of autonomous decision-making, which will be done by agentic AI. These autonomous decisions will pertain to planning, optimization, and content creation. It is really a shift from being an enabler to being a decision-maker.” 

Mandayam further pointed out the areas where these waves have already started making changes. Customer service is one area which is witnessing transformation driven by agentic AI. 

“The way chatbots have evolved today to have a far more clear view of who’s asking the questions, where are they coming from, and provide answers based on that knowledge,” Mandayam said. 

In addition to revolutionising customer service, Agentic AI will also make a huge difference in vernacular communication, Mandayam stated. 

“The other area where agentic AI is going to make a huge difference is the understanding of vernacular. Being able to converse and engage with the consumer in a deep vernacular manner is the next big step which will happen,” GroupM’s South Asia CSO said.

Mandayam summarised by saying that Agentic AI, with its autonomous decision-making, will be able to drive consumer engagement in a far more meaningful manner.