US-Israeli tech firm Tonkean is the latest procurement software solutions provider to launch an Agentic AI solution for procurement teams. Offering “Agentic orchestration for the Fortune 1000”, Tonkean’s AI agents can autonomously orchestrate complex processes while working to achieve long-term business goals without undermining human agency.
What makes AI “Agentic”?
Agentic AI tools are the next generation of GenAI tools, with developers pitching them as more autonomous and better suited to complex tasks. They can work towards more intricate and nuanced objectives with less human oversight. As opposed to more traditional AI and automation tools, which follow instructions more rigidly, Agentic AI is a step towards tackling complex problems in a more nuanced manner.
The technology uses advanced reasoning and multi-step planning to break down complex workflows into manageable tasks. Compared with existing AI tools, AI “agents” focus on outcomes rather than just obeying tasks to the letter. This, in turn, makes them more flexible and able to react better to the broader context surrounding a decision.
According to the companies developing these tools, Agentic AI represents a genuine leap in capability, which procurement teams can use in turn to unlock unprecedented efficiencies.
The first crop of generative AI tools saw widespread adoption but little business impact, with NTT Data identifying that as many as 85% of GenAI projects are struggling to meet ROI expectations. Now, AI companies are hoping that Agentic AI will usher in a phase of greater independence and the ability for the tools to tackle more complex tasks than before with less human oversight and fewer pain points.
Is Tonkean’s Agentic Orchestration different?
While not the first organisation to launch a tool of this nature, Tonkean argues that its Agentic AI tools function differently to others that have hit the market in the past month. Tonkean Agentic Orchestration combines autonomous, collaborative, creative AI with deterministic rules-based automation, a combination which can do a better job of carrying out tasks and avoiding regulatory hurdles.
With Tonkean Agentic Orchestration, enterprise teams can configure agents to carry out a number of tasks semi-autonomously. These include answering questions from policies to ensure compliance, performing actions and querying information across systems, and producing more personalised experiences, to name a few.
The company claims that its tool’s powerful capabilities mark a paradigm shift in how AI can seamlessly carry out complex back-office functions, as well as in how employees at large organisations interact with software in their day-to-day processes.
“Business processes are not about data or even technology. Fundamentally they’re about people,” commented Tonkean founder Sagi Eliyahu. “But whether you’re talking about people or the tools they use, both need goals, guardrails, and support to work effectively. You can put a bunch of the world’s smartest people in a room together and say, ‘Go to work!,’ but without strategy and structure, it would be chaos. Tonkean provides that strategy and structure through orchestration. It brings you autonomy and intelligence and safeguards you against chaos.”
According to data from Market.us, the global Agentic AI market is set for significant growth. Market.us projects that the segment will reach $196.6 billion by 2034, up from $5.2 billion last year.
