By Rob Kall, CEO & Co-Founder, Cien.ai

“An Agent without data is not really an Agent, but just a lame duck…”

–  Rob Kall, CEO & Co-Founder, Cien.ai

Everyone Talks About AI Agents, But What Makes AI Agentic?

First came the wave of excitement around GenAI — chatbots, content generation, and
assistants. But in recent months, there’s been a shift. The conversation is no longer about
GenAI; it’s about Agentic AI — systems that don’t just respond, they act.

Why the buzz? Because Agentic AI promises massive productivity gains across industries. In fact, according to Capgemini, AI agents could generate $450B in economic value by 2028
through cost savings and revenue uplift.

But that brings us to the real question: What exactly is an AI agent?

The 3 Things that are Unique to AI Agents

Let’s cut through the jargon. An AI agent isn’t just a smarter chatbot or a more sophisticated
model. It’s something new — and its power lies in three key capabilities:

1. It has your knowledge. Not Wikipedia. Not ChatGPT. Your data — sales reports, client
   history, pricing models, product manuals, custom playbooks. This is context that only
   exists inside your business.
2. It can use your tools. An agent can connect to your CRM, your dashboards, and your
   internal systems. It doesn’t just analyze — it acts. It can write back, update records, and even launch campaigns.
3. It works toward your desired outcome. Whether it’s improving lead quality,
   accelerating conversion, or reducing churn, an agent understands your goals and takes
   repeatable, measurable actions to achieve them.

The common denominator? The word “Your”. That’s what separates Agentic AI from
everything that came before: you can share “common sense” with it, and therefore it can be much more useful.

What Does Success Look Like?

At Cien.ai, we’ve been building toward this moment since 2016. As an AI-first company, we
saw early on that GTM success wasn’t just about insights — it was about execution. That’s
why we built Cien Agentic.

Cien Agentic connects directly with your GTM Suite, using already cleaned and standardized
data to power pre-made Agentic workflows. These workflows can be customized to your
needs, making it possible to:

• Pinpoint sales and marketing friction points.
• Track progress on growth initiatives.
• Take proactive actions — not just diagnostics.

Because let’s be honest: an agent without access to good data isn’t an agent. It’s a lame duck.

About the Cien.ai Data Exec Series

This article is part of our Data Exec Series, inspired by our work with B2B leaders, growth
consultants, and PE operating partners. These articles focus on becoming a data-driven
executive ready for the AI revolution. Want to dig into the business strategies that enable
this technology? Check out our companion series, Cien.ai Growth Essentials, and for hands-
on guidance, see the Practical RevOps Analytics Series.