AI agents are the next major platform shift in Tech on par with the dawn of the internet 30 years ago and the rise of mobile apps 10 years ago. Speaking at the Skift Global Forum in New York City yesterday (September 18), Tech Executive claimed that it was competing to recruit AI agents like companies once scrambled to build websites and launch mobile apps.
“I think this is the opportunity for the nearest catalog to be the birth of the Internet,” Taylor said in an on-stage interview.
Taylor saw firsthand a few waves of confusion. At Google in the early 2000s, he helped launch Google Maps. He served as co-CEO of Facebook (now Meta), Salesforce and chair of the board of directors of Twitter during the turbulent acquisition of Elon Musk. In 2023 he was tapped as chairman of Openai's board after ChatGpt-Maker temporarily expelled and revived CEO Sam Altman.
Now, his focus is on Sierra, a conversational AI startup that he co-founded with former Google colleague Clay Bavor two years ago. The company quickly became “deca corn” and was valued at $10 billion after raising $350 million from Greenoaks Capital earlier this month. Sierra already counts customers from hundreds of companies in financial services, healthcare and retail. A fifth of Sierra's customers earn more than $10 billion in annual revenue.
Taylor argues that AI agents are more than just a cost-saving tool. More and more, they are the driving force behind revenue. Sierra's Platform helps businesses sell mortgages, launch sales calls and manage small businesses' pay. “These agents are not only doing services, they also doing sales,” he said.
And the form factor has evolved. Chatbots dominate the landscape today, but Taylor believes that voice-enabled AI is “more like a channel or more important than a chat.” Multimodal agents have also appeared. For example, retailers are beginning to process warranty claims by analyzing photos of damaged products.
Just as the Internet has created search engines and aggregation platforms, Taylor hopes Agent AI will generate a whole new business category. The challenge is to ensure that their desires meet consumer expectations as they inevitably evolve with the development of technology. “Consumers are moving faster than most businesses make decisions,” Taylor warned, saying ChatGpt has become the fastest growing consumer app in history. “It is our leaders who will push us decisively towards this new world.”
