AI agents are starting to run errands for us across the internet

AI agents, programs that act on your behalf without you clicking through websites yourself, are starting to run everyday errands online. MIT Technology Review reports they can sort your inbox, do your grocery shopping and even reach your bank accounts. The magazine calls this new era the agentic web.

An old idea, now real

The idea is not new. In 2001, a decade after inventing the World Wide Web, Tim Berners-Lee described an internet navigated by autonomous software agents. They would handle our needs without us fiddling with browsers and search engines. At the time, it seemed far-fetched. About 25 years later, AI agents are beginning to make it happen.

What is at stake

The report says this shift will inevitably transform the internet. It also says whether the human-run web survives is anyone's guess. In plain terms, if software does the browsing and buying for us, the sites and search tools built for people may change a great deal. Technology Review has a longer piece on what we stand to lose.

What is not known yet

The material gives no list of which agents are in use, how many people use them, or what protections exist when one touches your money. Those details matter.

What to do

• Check exactly what an agent can see, such as your email or bank accounts.
• Check what it can do there, not just what it can read.
• Start with low-stakes tasks before handing over anything financial.