In a world where artificial intelligence agents act on behalf of human users, the fundamental relationship between consumers, technology platforms, and businesses is being rewritten. As executives across industries face increasing pressure to adapt, understanding the implications of agentic AI has moved from curiosity to necessity.
Episode 20 of Ascendle Unscripted explores these shifts with two industry veterans: Jeff Blankenburg, former Alexa evangelist at Amazon and agentic systems strategist, and Clint Edmonson, Vice President of Software Engineering at Ascendle. Together, they paint a compelling picture of how AI agents are redefining attention, automation, and the very fabric of digital interaction.
When Your Next User Is an AI Agent
As Jeff explains, we’re witnessing “tech eating tech” — the phenomenon where AI agents disrupt existing technology stacks. Consider Google search: while businesses pour millions into SEO, AI summaries like those generated by Gemini sit above traditional results, giving users direct answers without the need to click through. This shift represents a seismic challenge for platforms built on attention-based monetization models.
Meanwhile, Clint highlights the deeper opportunity: “Anywhere you have people spending time on active tasks, there’s potential for gaining that time back by delegating work to an autonomous agent.” He frames this evolution as not just another automation wave but a leap toward radically redefining workflows.
Platforms Under Pressure: The End of the UI Era?
As AI agents increasingly interact with APIs rather than user interfaces, many traditional platforms could see their value propositions erode. Jeff recounts an experiment where a simple API modeled after a restaurant menu enabled an AI to build a functioning app, showing how agents can already parse, understand, and consume structured data directly.
This trend forces organizations to rethink platform design. Clint warns that without adapting, SaaS companies that have always built for human users may find their infrastructure and pricing models obsolete.
The Attention Economy’s Disruption
For decades, platforms have monetized human attention. But agents don’t watch ads or click on pop-ups — they act on behalf of users to achieve goals. This threatens the foundation of entire industries. The recent lawsuit by the Wall Street Journal against Perplexity, which used their articles for AI training without directing traffic to their site, underscores this brewing conflict.
“Attention is the currency,” Clint stresses, adding that with agents in the mix, “people will have to rethink their models.”
Becoming the Director of Your Digital Agents
A central theme in the discussion is that tomorrow’s leaders must think like directors orchestrating a team of agents. As Jeff puts it, “Someone’s going to invent a really good PM agent to manage your other agents — it’s layers on layers.”
To thrive, leaders need to:
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Partition responsibilities among agents.
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Set financial and operational guardrails.
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Build organizational structures that mirror an effective team, even if that team is entirely artificial.
Clint likens the coming shift to managing a complex movie set. If you don’t understand how all these pieces come together, you’re going to end up with chaos.
Guardrails and the Economics of Agentic Systems
Financial control is emerging as a critical consideration. Clint notes that organizations experimenting with agents can quickly rack up costs if usage isn’t bounded. Jeff shares a real-world example of companies developing “AI service buses” to throttle enterprise AI spending — similar to cloud spending controls but applied to external LLMs.
Both speakers emphasize cost containment and risk management, noting that leaders must apply similar discipline when scaling agentic AI solutions.
Key Takeaways
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Agentic AI is accelerating a shift from attention-based models to outcome-based services.
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Traditional platforms built for human UIs must adapt to agent-driven interactions through discoverable, structred APIs.
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Delegating tasks to agents can recover significant time leaks across organizations.
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Guardrails on spending and data access are critical to manage AI agent deployments effectively.
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Leaders need new organizational models to coordinate agent responsibilities and prevent operational chaos.
A New Age of Agency: Adapt or Be Left Behind
The days of opting out of major technology shifts are over. With AI, you won’t have the luxury of not participating — it will touch every part of your life and business.
For leaders willing to invest, the opportunity is immense: reduced costs, faster execution, and the ability to refocus human talent on strategic decisions rather than repetitive tasks. But hesitation could leave companies obsolete in a world where agents shop, negotiate, and even read the news on behalf of users.
Ascendle Is Here to Help
Agentic AI is changing everything — from platform design to customer expectations. Ascendle’s experienced team can help you navigate these challenges, whether you’re optimizing your existing products or building new agent-ready solutions. Contact us today to start your journey toward a future-proof digital strategy.
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