Vendor Profile: ConvergentIS Provides a Glimpse into the Future of Procurement Agentic Platforms

This IDC Vendor Profile is not meant to be a primer on agentic AI; we'll spend a lot of time writing about agentic AI. But at a high level, agentic AI platforms represent an innovative approach in artificial intelligence, combining advanced technologies to create autonomous systems capable of independent decision-making, action-taking, and continuous learning. These platforms are designed to produce AI agents that can operate with minimal human oversight, handling complex tasks and workflows traditionally managed by people.Agentic AI platforms are adaptive and informed intelligent decision support and task execution tools that combine contextual understanding and a capacity for forward-looking, proactive action. They represent a transformational step forward due to several attributes, including:Goal-oriented autonomy: Unlike traditional AI systems that follow predefined rules, agentic AI pursues objectives independently, adapting its strategies based on new information and changing environments.Complex problem-solving: Agentic AI applies reasoning and iterative planning to solve multistep problems, going beyond simple task execution to interpret context, evaluate options, and achieve specific goals.Dynamic interaction: These platforms can detect when to answer questions, request clarifications, or engage in conversation using natural language processing (NLP), enabling more fluid human-AI collaboration.Contextual knowledge integration: By incorporating retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) from company documents and enterprise systems, agentic platforms provide context-specific knowledge tailored to organizational needs.Human-AI collaboration: Agentic AI enables workflows that achieve strategic outcomes by combining human expertise with AI capabilities, escalating low-confidence scenarios to human oversight when necessary.