Important points
- Small business owners are increasingly using AI agents, software that operates autonomously to perform tasks and make decisions, to do work for them.
- As an example, bankruptcy attorney Scott Bell uses AI agents to manage client intake, respond to routine inquiries, and organize financial documents.
- Platforms like OpenClaw allow users to assign high-level goals, which the AI agent breaks down into tasks and executes across business functions.
Small business owners are beginning to manage a new kind of workforce.
These employees don’t sit in an office or log into Slack. Instead, they are AI agents, or AI systems, that can handle complex tasks on their own. For some entrepreneurs, AI agents already handle important tasks such as finance, customer service, and email communications with minimal supervision. new york times It was reported earlier this week.
Bankruptcy attorney Scott Bell offers one of the clearest examples of how this shift is playing out in practice. bell said: times He said he initially approached AI tools with skepticism, viewing them as useful assistants rather than decision-makers.
Things changed when he started experimenting with AI agents that could operate autonomously across multiple tasks. These agents could run workflows end-to-end, rather than just creating documents or summarizing emails.
“With the bankruptcy, a lot of the jobs are form-based,” Bell said in an interview with the newspaper. times. “What I’m doing isn’t that complicated.”
bell said: times He said he used AI agents to manage customer intake, respond to routine inquiries and organize financial documents. Over time, he allowed the system to take on increasingly complex responsibilities. Agents began assessing the urgency of emails, flagging urgent legal issues, and even creating preliminary case summaries. In some cases, Bell communicated directly with clients to ask follow-up questions or gather necessary details without any direct involvement.
The experience was both efficient and anxiety-provoking. Bell described a moment when the system worked faster than it could be traced, completing hours of administrative work in minutes.
While this increased productivity, it also forced Bell to rethink his role. Instead of performing tasks, he was overseeing the results and reviewing decisions made by a system he didn’t fully control.
OpenClaw powers the transition to AI agents
At the heart of this change is a platform used by Bell called OpenClaw. OpenClaw allows users to coordinate multiple AI agents that can work together across business functions. Unlike traditional software that relies on predefined inputs and outputs, OpenClaw allows users to assign goals rather than instructions. The system then divides those goals into tasks and distributes them to specialized agents. times.
According to Linux Journal, entrepreneurs use OpenClaw for a variety of tasks. Some people use it for customer support, where agents handle inquiries, process refunds, and escalate complex cases. Some people use it for marketing, with agents drafting campaigns and scheduling posts.
The rise of AI agents is creating new challenges. times Report. Employers need to think differently about supervision. Rather than checking individual tasks, we use a monitoring system that generates and executes its own plans. Errors can propagate quickly if not caught early.
For Bell, the benefits have so far outweighed the risks. He believes that AI will permeate every aspect of corporate operations.
“Of course, that would mean I would lose my job at some point,” he said. times. “Maybe sooner or later, AI will be able to do what I do, much cheaper and faster than I can.”
Important points
- Small business owners are increasingly using AI agents, software that operates autonomously to perform tasks and make decisions, to do work for them.
- As an example, bankruptcy attorney Scott Bell uses AI agents to manage client intake, respond to routine inquiries, and organize financial documents.
- Platforms like OpenClaw allow users to assign high-level goals, which the AI agent breaks down into tasks and executes across business functions.
Small business owners are beginning to manage a new kind of workforce.
These employees don’t sit in an office or log into Slack. Instead, they are AI agents, or AI systems, that can handle complex tasks on their own. For some entrepreneurs, AI agents already handle important tasks such as finance, customer service, and email communications with minimal supervision. new york times It was reported earlier this week.
Bankruptcy attorney Scott Bell offers one of the clearest examples of how this shift is playing out in practice. bell said: times He said he initially approached AI tools with skepticism, viewing them as useful assistants rather than decision-makers.
