Agentic Web Revolution | Expert Insights from Microsoft CTO
Microsoft CTO Kevin Scott believes we’re on the cusp of a fundamental shift in how we interact with the internet. The “agentic web” – where AI assistants complete complex tasks on our behalf – is poised to replace traditional search and browsing. In a recent interview on Decoder with Nilay Patel, Scott shared how this revolution will transform our digital experience, from searching for information to making purchasing decisions and beyond.
What is the Agentic Web?
The agentic web represents a major evolution in internet interaction. Instead of typing queries into search engines and clicking through results, users will request tasks from AI agents that can understand natural language, navigate websites, and perform actions independently. These agents will serve as intermediaries between humans and the digital world.
“I think we need a word for this thing that’s happening,” Scott explained in the interview. “It’s where users can express their intent in natural language, and you have this capability sitting between them and the rest of the web that is able to help them accomplish their goals.”
This shift from a document-centric web to an agent-centric web fundamentally changes how we access information and services online. Rather than manually navigating through multiple sites, comparing options, or following complex procedures, we’ll simply tell an AI what we want, and it will handle the details.
How Agents Will Transform Search
Traditional search engines present users with a list of potentially relevant links. The agentic web takes a different approach: it understands your question, searches for information, evaluates sources, synthesizes answers, and presents them directly.
Scott highlights several key differences:
- Natural language understanding instead of keyword matching
- Direct answers rather than lists of links
- Ability to follow complex multi-step instructions
- Source verification and fact-checking built into responses
- Personalization based on individual preferences
“We’re moving from searching to completing tasks,” Scott notes. “The difference is profound because now you’re expressing what you want to happen at a much higher level of abstraction.”
Beyond Search: What Agents Can Do
The potential applications extend far beyond improved search. According to Scott, AI agents will eventually help with a wide range of tasks:
- Planning trips by comparing flights, hotels, and activities across multiple sites
- Shopping by finding the best products based on personalized criteria
- Scheduling appointments by coordinating between different people’s calendars
- Processing documents and extracting relevant information
- Writing code and automating technical tasks
Each of these activities currently requires significant manual effort – visiting multiple websites, comparing options, and making decisions. Agents simplify this process by handling the intermediate steps while allowing humans to focus on the higher-level objectives.
Technical Foundations of the Agentic Web
The emergence of the agentic web isn’t accidental. It builds on several key technological developments:
Large language models (LLMs) like those powering ChatGPT form the foundation. These models can understand natural language requests and generate appropriate responses. However, Scott emphasizes that LLMs alone aren’t sufficient.
“The most important thing is connecting these models to the real world,” he explains. “That’s where tools, plugins, and APIs become essential.”
These connections allow AI agents to:
- Access real-time information from the web
- Use specialized tools for specific tasks
- Interact with websites and services on behalf of users
- Reason about complex problems using multiple steps
Microsoft’s partnership with OpenAI has accelerated this transition, with technologies like Bing Chat and Copilot representing early steps toward fully capable agents.
Real-World Example
Imagine you’re planning a family vacation to Europe. Today, this might involve dozens of browser tabs: flight comparison sites, hotel reviews, attraction listings, restaurant recommendations, and currency converters. You’d spend hours tabulating options and cross-referencing information.
With an agentic approach, you might simply say: “I want to plan a 10-day family trip to Italy in June for two adults and two kids under 12. We enjoy history, good food, and need to keep the budget under $8,000.” The agent would then research options, present itineraries with flights and accommodations, suggest activities based on your interests, and even book reservations once you approve.
Scott demonstrated a similar scenario during his interview, showing how a complex task that once required hours of manual work could be completed in minutes with an AI assistant handling the details.
The Business Impact
The shift to an agentic web has profound implications for businesses. Traditional digital marketing strategies like SEO may need to evolve as direct website traffic decreases. Companies will need to consider how their services can be discovered and utilized by AI agents.
“There’s a whole set of businesses whose business models are predicated on the way the web works today,” Scott acknowledges. “And we need to figure out how we create this future in a responsible way that doesn’t just disrupt everything.”
Some potential business impacts include:
- Changed discovery mechanisms for products and services
- New forms of advertising and marketing targeted at AI agents
- Development of specialized APIs for agent integration
- Shift from website optimization to agent optimization
- Increased competition based on quality rather than visibility
This transition presents both challenges and opportunities. Companies that adapt quickly by making their services agent-friendly may gain significant advantages, while those relying solely on traditional web traffic could struggle.
Challenges and Concerns
Despite his enthusiasm, Scott acknowledges several significant challenges facing the agentic web:
Trust and Reliability
For agents to be truly useful, users must trust their outputs. This requires addressing issues like hallucinations (AI generating false information), source verification, and transparency about uncertainty.
“We’ve been experimenting with different ways of attribution,” Scott explains. “When the system gives you an answer, it needs to tell you where it got that information from so you can verify it yourself if necessary.”
Privacy and Security
Agents will access personal information and potentially act on users’ behalf. This raises important questions about data usage, consent, and security protections.
“You’re going to have these agents that are privy to a huge amount of personal information,” notes Scott. “We need to ensure that information is protected and used only for the specific purposes authorized by users.”
Business Model Disruption
The web’s current economic model relies heavily on advertising and site traffic. Agents that bypass traditional browsing could disrupt these models, requiring new approaches to monetization.
Scott suggests that value will increasingly focus on content creation rather than distribution mechanisms: “The people who make the stuff that’s valuable on the web today will continue to do so in the future. We need to make sure they’re still compensated appropriately.”
The Timeline for Change
How quickly will this transition occur? Scott sees it as an evolution rather than an overnight revolution.
“These things happen more slowly than you think in the short term, but faster than you expect in the long term,” he says. “We’re already seeing the first generation of these tools, but it will take time for them to become sophisticated enough for widespread adoption.”
The transition will likely follow several phases:
- Basic assistance (already happening with Bing Chat, ChatGPT, etc.)
- Limited task completion with human verification
- Complex multi-step processes with increasing autonomy
- Fully autonomous agents handling end-to-end tasks
Scott estimates that meaningful agent capabilities will become mainstream within the next 2-5 years, with more advanced functions emerging gradually after that.
Microsoft’s Position in the Agentic Web
As Microsoft’s CTO, Scott naturally positions his company at the forefront of this transition. The company’s investments in OpenAI, along with integrations across products like Bing, Office, and GitHub, demonstrate its commitment to the agent paradigm.
“We’re trying to build systems where the user is still in control,” Scott emphasizes. “The agent works on your behalf, not someone else’s.”
This user-centric approach distinguishes Microsoft’s vision from potential alternatives where agents might prioritize business interests over user needs. The company’s moves to integrate agent capabilities across its product line suggest it sees this transition as central to its future.
Preparing for the Agentic Web
For individuals and businesses looking to prepare for this shift, Scott offers several recommendations:
- Experiment with current agent technologies to understand their capabilities and limitations
- Consider how your digital presence can be made more accessible to AI systems
- Focus on creating high-quality, verifiable content rather than optimizing for traditional search algorithms
- Develop clear APIs and structured data that agents can easily interpret
- Consider the ethical implications of increasingly automated digital interactions
“The most important thing is to start thinking about this paradigm shift now,” Scott advises. “The winners in the agentic web will be those who adapt their approaches early rather than trying to preserve outdated models.”
Looking Beyond the Horizon
Scott’s vision extends beyond the immediate changes to search and browsing. He sees the agentic web as part of a broader transformation in how humans interact with technology.
“In the long run, I think we’re moving toward a world where technology becomes much more accessible to everyone,” he explains. “Natural language is the universal interface – everyone knows how to speak and express their needs conversationally.”
This democratization could reduce the digital divide by making sophisticated computing capabilities available to people regardless of technical expertise. Rather than requiring users to learn specialized interfaces or programming languages, computers would adapt to human communication styles.
The ultimate goal, according to Scott, is augmentation rather than replacement: “We want to build tools that extend human capabilities, allowing people to focus on the creative and uniquely human aspects of their work while delegating routine tasks to AI assistants.”
Conclusion
The agentic web represents a fundamental shift in our relationship with digital technology. By moving from manual browsing to AI-assisted task completion, it promises to make the internet more accessible, efficient, and user-friendly.
As Kevin Scott articulates, this transition builds on technological advances in AI while requiring thoughtful consideration of business models, privacy concerns, and user control. The companies and individuals who recognize and adapt to this shift early will likely find themselves better positioned as the web continues its evolution.
While challenges remain, the direction is clear: we’re moving toward a more intelligent, personalized, and capable internet that works on our behalf rather than requiring us to adapt to its limitations.
Have thoughts about the agentic web revolution? How do you see AI assistants changing your online experience in the coming years? Share your perspective in the comments below.