Beyond the Hype: What AI Agents ACTUALLY Are in 2025

Welcome to the latest issue of the AI Community Learning Series – a space to explore how leaders and innovators are reshaping industries with AI. In this session, Dr. Nancy Li and Nicholas Drabowski shared a behind-the-scenes look at what AI agents really are in 2025, cutting through the buzz to show how they work, what they can (and can’t) do, and how to build and assess them effectively. If you missed it, here are the highlights of our conversation and link to recording / hands-on demo.

What AI Agents Actually Are—Beyond the Buzz

"People expect superhuman quality from AI agents. But they’re average machines—built to mimic the average human response." — Nicholas Drabowski

It’s easy to get swept up in the hype around AI agents. But this session peeled back the layers to show what’s actually happening under the hood.

Dr. Nancy Li kicked things off with a candid clarification: not every chatbot or GPT prompt is an agent. A true AI agent engages in an iterative, feedback-driven process. It doesn’t just respond once—it plans, executes, evaluates, and adapts. Think of it more like a collaborator than a tool.

What’s even more critical? Knowing where we are on the roadmap to autonomy:

• Basic Prompting is not an agent.
• Agentic Workflows represent an evolving collaboration between human input and AI iteration.
• Fully Autonomous Agents—à la Her—remain aspirational, though we're inching closer.

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2?? Live Demo: Watching Agents in Action

3?? Lessons from Building Agentic Workflows

4?? Where Agents Are Already Thriving

5?? Takeaways for Builders & Leaders

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Looking Ahead: What You Can Do Next

“In a few years, AI will be like AWS—just another API in your stack. But if you don’t build with it now, you’ll be left behind.” — Dr. Nancy Li

Start small. Build your own GPT. Tinker with tools like CrewAI. Or better yet, get hands-on with real-world projects through programs like the AI PM Bootcamp—where product managers team up with engineers to build functioning AI products used by real users.?

The next cohort of AI PM bootcamp will start in Mid April. Members of this AI Enthusiast Community will get $700 discount (largest yet!) using promo code “SHYVEE”. You can learn more by attending Dr. Nancy Li’s FREE AI PM Workshop and start learning for free on her YouTube channel.

They are giving free access to AI PM Bootcamp to teenage kids from underserved communities through their nonprofit: PMA Kids. If you know someone who qualifies, please ask them to submit an application on our website.?

And if you’re focused on purpose, not just productivity? Follow Nicholas’s lead: he’s currently leveraging agents at Save the Children to improve humanitarian program quality and impact around the world.

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