The 3 types of people who will excel in the AI agent era, according to tech leaders - ZDNET

What the report says

ZDNet reports that technology leaders expect the rise of AI agents to reshape, rather than simply erase, many workplace roles. In a July 24 article by Mark Samuels, the outlet describes an “autonomous business” model in which software agents increasingly handle discovery, negotiation, transactions and some operational decisions. The article argues that workers most likely to stand out will be those who can combine human judgment with agent-based systems.

The first group identified by ZDNet is technically skilled enablers. Alex Read, senior enterprise product manager for data at EDF UK, described how his team supports more than 1,000 internal users through a hub-and-spoke model that connects data specialists with business units. The team uses Snowflake tools, including Semantic Tables, Horizon Data Catalogs and the CoCo coding agent, to make data more usable by AI agents, including for a Slack-based service center support tool. Sameer Vuyyuru, chief AI and product officer at Capita, said employees should use AI tools regularly and learn how to pair them with professional expertise.

The second group is people who can correct and supervise agentic systems. Read emphasized the continued value of domain experts with decades of industry knowledge, while Stephen Wood, chief operating officer at Rathbones Asset Management, said future work will require humans to provide oversight and final checks in highly governed processes.

ZDNet’s third category is outcome-focused collaborators. Dan Cherowbrier, CTO at Formula E, said successful AI adoption depends on defining the desired business result rather than automating existing silos. In software development, he said, expertise is shifting toward the start of projects, where workers must set clear requirements for agents to follow.