The next generation of artificial intelligence is expected to replace a human: the personal assistant you probably cannot afford to hire.
âAI agentsâ capable of completing a complex series of tasks after just one command are emerging as a top tech trend for 2025, with the backing of Samsung and Google in an upcoming range of smartphones.
Industry experts and analysts have welcomed their arrival and the convenience they could bring, saying the rapid AI evolution will spark fierce competition among device makers.
But they also warn the use of digital assistants could have serious repercussions for app developers and while users may trust AI to book and schedule a haircut, they should carefully consider whether to rely on them to make bigger financial commitments without supervision.
AI agents had been widely touted as the next big development in the technology, following the arrival of generative AI chatbots in late 2022.
Samsung underlined the techâs potential at a launch in San Jose, California, this week, where it made AI agents the central focus of its flagship Galaxy S25 phones.
The company revealed plans to replace its voice assistant Bixby with Googleâs Gemini in the devices, and to allow the AI agent to manipulate Google, Samsung and third-party apps to follow userâs wishes.
After asking this phone a question, an AI agent could perform an internet search for vegan-friendly restaurants in central Sydney, email its top three findings to your friend, and add a dinner date to your calendar, for example.
The development required close collaboration between the phone maker, Google Android and Gemini engineering teams, Samsung Electronics executive vice-president Sally Hyesoon Jeong says, and AI to be baked into the phoneâs operating system.
âInternally, we had a plan to make this a big jump,â she told AAP.
âIf you consider from the planning stages to the engineering, it took about three years.â
Previous voice assistants have been very ârule-based,â Ms Hyesoon Jeong says, and unable to understand complex inquiries or a chain of requests.
The development of large language models enabled AI agents to better understand spoken requests and the intent behind them, she says, even if a person stumbles mid-sentence or is not clear.
âYou could say to the agent, âfind this video on YouTube and remind me of it laterâ or âstore this and put it into my calendarâ,â she says.
âIf humans speak to it in whichever manner, it is able to understand intentions.â
The change in how to operate a smartphone represents a âparadigm shift,â Ms Hyesoon Jeong says, similar to the move from feature phones to smartphones that introduced touchscreens and apps.
The change could have a significant impact on the way people use their phones, with market research firm Gartner predicting AI agents will encourage people to stop opening some apps as it is done on their behalf.
Individual app use is expected to drop by 25 per cent in 2027 as people talk to their phones, Gartner senior principal Emily Weiss says, and app developers and marketers need to prepare.
â(Chief marketing officers) should begin scenario-planning for the impacts of decreased mobile app usage,â she says.
Consumers are likely to see more benefits than downsides from the arrival of AI agents, UNSW AI Institute chief scientist Toby Walsh says, as the technology might finally capture what they mean when they ask a question.
If executed correctly, he says, AI agents could take the place of personal assistants that are typically the domain of the ultra wealthy.
âYou and I canât afford a personal assistant but we could have a personal agent and, just as (rich people are) able to give authority to their assistant for small things like booking a haircut, you could give a personal agent that ability,â he says.
âBut you would not give it the ability to book your next holiday â youâd probably want to check before you give them that authority.â
Placing restrictions on what the technology can do will be important, Prof Walsh says, to avoid repercussions similar to âgiving your credit card to a young family memberâ.
Legal restrictions, like mandatory guardrails currently being considered by the federal government, could also play a role in the use of AI agents as some consumers may not realise how their data is being used by different companies.
âWeâll be interacting with agents without realising theyâre AI, not human,â he says.
âWe should be very mindful about the terms and conditions and exactly whatâs happening to our data and whether thatâs a fair exchange.â
The worldâs two leading smartphone makers have made efforts to boost AI transparency, with Apple prompting users before passing queries to OpenAIâs ChatGPT and Samsung pledging to perform some tasks on device and to encrypt personal data.
Communication about how a consumerâs data is stored and used does need to improve, Samsung Australia mobile vice-president Eric Chou says, and its upcoming AI agent is designed to be more transparent.
âThere are still a group of people in Australia who have concerns around AI usage and privacy and security,â he says.
âNone of that (data) will ever be used for training an AI model and none of the user behaviours will ever be passed on for any ad-selling.â
The focus on privacy potentially delayed the rollout of Apple Intelligence until late last year, Telsyte managing director Foad Fadaghi says, but the arrival of serious AI agents from Samsung could push the market further faster.
âItâs likely that we will see Apple respond,â he says.
âApple is lagging and while it might not cause immediate disruption to their base, itâs clearly one to watch as it has that potential.â
AAP travelled to San Jose with the assistance of Samsung.
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Jennifer Dudley-Nicholson
(Australian Associated Press)
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