Worteller Femke on creating business value with AI

When AI tools such as Copilot and ChatGPT were introduced, we used them en masse to increase our productivity on an individual level. The main question was: 'How can I work more efficiently, faster and more creatively using such tools?'

We have now entered the next phase. Organizations are increasingly interested in how AI can contribute to cost savings, revenue growth, and a better customer experience. "The focus is shifting from personal productivity to process optimization," says Femke Cornelissen, Chief Copilot at Wortell. "With the arrival of agents, organizations are increasingly concentrating on optimizing and automating processes. They now mainly want to know how AI helps them achieve their KPIs and organizational goals."

Copilot: the 'UI for AI'

Because data security has caused headaches in recent times, organizations are now taking measures. "Many people use ChatGPT or other AI solutions without their company paying for it or protecting the data," says Femke. "That's why we're seeing a strong shift to Microsoft 365 and Copilot. You use AI within your own secure environment."

A wise decision, especially now that organizations want to use AI to achieve business goals. "Copilot is now often referred to as the 'UI for AI'," says Femke. "It is the entry point for all AI use within an organization. Of course, you need that if you want to create business value with AI. And with the memory that Copilot will soon have, you will really notice what a difference it makes. Imagine that Copilot understands how you work and wants to be helped... That will soon be the reality."

Build agents with AI

What makes it even easier is that agents are in a Microsoft 365 license . This allows many organizations to move forward at full speed.

 "Organizations are now mainly looking at the agents they can build with AI," says Femke. "The best leaders are no longer looking at what they can do with AI or Copilot. They ask: 'What can we do together to become even better?'"

You can think of a retrieval agent, who searches internal data in a smart way. "Suppose you have a database with product information, brochures and manuals," explains Femke. "A retrieval agent dives into this to provide immediate answers to questions. This saves employees a lot of time. Moreover, the officer is getting smarter and smarter, because he learns from every interaction."

Another example is a task agent. "This automates certain actions," says Femke. "For example, if you want to know how many days off you have left, the agent gets this information from the HR system. In addition, the agent can offer to schedule a leave of absence for you. This saves you a lot of searching and you no longer have to log in to different systems."

In addition, it is possible to build an autonomous agent . "You can give this officer instructions and teach them to act proactively," says Femke. "For example, do you get a call from a customer or something happens in your CRM system? We call that a trigger. The agent uses your instructions to make a plan based on your data and systems . The outcome then ends up where you want: with you, on your website or in WhatsApp."

Vision for the future: people as managers of autonomous agents

According to Femke, autonomous agents are an important part of the future: "I believe that organizations will build and deploy these agents to achieve their goals. And that we are moving towards a world in which we are the managers of autonomous agents."

What can this look like? Femke explains it with an example: "Suppose you have several autonomous agents. They take care of things like product research, product analysis, and marketing. The next step is for them to work together. Each agent contributes a bit of expertise to achieve a coherent result. As a human being, you then act as the manager of all those agents."

When the time comes, applications with only one focus will no longer have a right to exist. Femke: "Why would you still work with all kinds of separate SaaS solutions when you can build exactly the workflow you need with AI?"

Does this also mean that AI will replace humans? "In some ways, yes," says Femke. "But it is an opportunity to deploy these people differently. For example, they have more time to help colleagues, think strategically and strengthen customer relationships. What I like is that AI makes this possible. That is also what we stand for at Wortell. 'We Empower People' is our motto!"