How You Can Use Agentic AI Today: Practical tools and workflows

You’ve met the toddler (Part 1), watched it grow (Part 2), peered inside its mind (Part 3), and learned why it still needs boundaries (Part 4). Now comes the question everyone’s been waiting to ask:

What Can Agentic AI Do for Me Right Now?

This post is your toolkit. No PhD required. No prompt engineering masterclass. Just a straightforward guide to what tools exist, what they’re good for, and how to use them without losing yourself in complexity.

Because the truth is, agentic AI isn't just a buzzword. It's already showing up in your inbox, browser, docs, and daily life. You just need to know where to look and how to get it to do real work.

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Meet Your Agents: Tools You Can Use Right Now

Agentic AI isn’t a single tool—it’s a way of working. Think of it as having a smart colleague who can observe, decide, act, and learn without needing to be micromanaged every single step.

Here are a few agentic-style tools that are ready for real-world use:

Business Automation – AI That Handles Strategy, Not Just Tasks

Agentic AI is redefining workflow automation. Instead of merely executing commands, it prioritizes, schedules, and optimizes with minimal human oversight.

• 🔹 Devin AI – The first AI software engineer that autonomously writes, tests, and debugs code.

• 🔹 AutoGPT – A GPT-based agent that sets and executes goals with minimal input. Great for tasks like market research and proposal writing.

• 🔹 Zapier AI – Think of it as traditional automation with a decision-making boost. These workflows adapt dynamically based on context.

• 🔹 BabyAGI – A lightweight agent that automatically generates subgoals based on larger tasks.

• 🔹 GitHub Copilot X – Suggests and completes code across files. The “X” version is like having an AI pair programmer.

• 🔹 Adept ACT-1 – A multimodal agent that learns how you use software tools and executes tasks on your behalf.

• 🔹 LangChain – Helps agents reason across documents and APIs to complete complex objectives.

• 🔹 LlamaIndex – Enhances data retrieval and decision-making by helping agents search across large-scale information sources.

  
  

Research & Knowledge Workflows – AI That Acts Like a Thinking Partner

Instead of searching manually, agentic AI retrieves, analyzes, and synthesizes insights at scale—turning research into actionable intelligence.

• 🔹 Perplexity AI – A research engine that cites sources as it provides responses.

• 🔹 Kagi AI – Cuts through the SEO noise to prioritize high-quality results.

• 🔹 Elicit – Summarizes academic papers and extracts key points, acting like a tireless research assistant.

  
  

Software Development – Autonomy in Engineering

Agentic AI is starting to do software development, not just assist with it.

• 🔹 GitHub Copilot – Autocompletes functions and entire blocks of code.

• 🔹 Codium AI – Manages test writing and autonomous debugging.

• 🔹 Devin AI – Again, it's that advanced.

  
  

Personal Productivity – AI That Works With You

Agentic AI isn’t just for teams; it’s also for anyone managing information, tasks, or juggling too much screen time.

• 🔹 Rewind AI – A personal AI memory that recalls everything you’ve seen, read, or discussed.

• 🔹 Superpowered AI – Transcribes and summarizes meetings in real time, turning conversations into actionable to-dos.

• 🔹 Notion AI – Summarizes documents and creates tasks, linking ideas in your workspace.

• 🔹 Rabbit R1 – A pocket-sized AI assistant that learns and adapts to your everyday needs (emails, notes, shopping, scheduling).

  
  

Build a Workflow (That Doesn’t Drive You Nuts)

Some tasks make sense for agentic AI; others, not so much.

Where Agentic AI Shines:

• Automating repetitive decision-making (e.g., email triage, scheduling)

• Aggregating and analyzing information

• Multi-step tasks like drafting reports or building outlines

  
  

Where Agentic AI Still Struggles:

• Tasks with emotional nuance (e.g., hiring, performance reviews)

• Real-time, high-stakes decisions (e.g., crisis management)

• Creative work that depends on taste or tone—unless you enjoy chaos!

  
  

The key? Start small, observe how the AI adapts, and refine as needed.

Here’s a simple 5-step way to bring an agent into your life:

1. Pick a real problem

• Too many emails?

• Need to write 30 social posts?

• Planning a vacation with limited budget constraints?




2. Define success

• What does “done” look like?

• A calendar invite? A finished deck? A published blog?




3. Choose your tool(s)

• Match the task to the agent’s strength.

• For example: ChatGPT for language-heavy tasks, AutoGPT for multi-step planning, and Rewind AI for scheduling.




4. Build the loop

• Observe → Decide → Act → Reflect → Repeat.

• Or: Sense → Think → Do → Check → Try Again.




5. Insert yourself (strategically)

• Review checkpoints.

• Adjust as needed.

• Celebrate when it saves you time.

Try This at Home: Worksheets and Templates

Want to get started without building your own system from scratch?

I made a set of worksheets just for this:

• 🛠️ Agentic Workflow Builder – Map your task, pick your tools, and sketch your loop.

• 📊 AI ROI Tracker – Log what worked, what flopped, and where you're saving time.

• ✍️ Prompt Engineering Cheatsheet – Agent-friendly prompts to get better results, faster.

  
  

You can access them here →

(Ps. They’re behind a small paywall—because value is still a thing.)

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Final Thought: The Best Way to Learn? Just Start.

Agentic AI is already here. It's not perfect, but it's powerful—and surprisingly usable. The people who win with it won't understand every technical detail. They'll be the ones who try, tweak, and iterate.

What do you have to lose? Worst case? You get a funny story. Best case? You save hours every week.

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Bonus: Fun Fact

The first “digital agent” ever created was named Shakey the Robot, built in the late 1960s. It could navigate rooms, push objects, and plan actions—making it the grandparent of modern AI agents.

Why the name Shakey? Because… it literally shook when it moved. Turns out, even the earliest agents had anxiety about making the wrong move. 🫣

P.S. This is a 5-Part Series

1. What is Agentic AI

2. The Evolution of Agentic AI: How We Got Here

3. How Agentic AI Works: The 5-Step Loop and (Part 3.5 for the techies)

4. Why Agents Need Boundaries: The Case for Keeping Humans in the Loop

5. How You Can Use Agentic AI Today: Practical tools and workflows