When Products Think For Themselves

Not too long ago, if you wanted to picture a technology that made decisions on its own, you might think of Tony Stark chatting with J.A.R.V.I.S. - that all-knowing AI butler from the Iron Man movies. J.A.R.V.I.S. wasn’t just an assistant; it was an active partner, anticipating needs, solving problems, and pushing Tony forward. Once, that kind of autonomy seemed squarely in the realm of Hollywood imagination. Now, it’s creeping into our real world.

As another year begins, there’s a quiet but profound shift unfolding in how we build products. It’s something called “agentic architecture,” and while that phrase sounds like it belongs in a sci-fi script, it captures a simple, transformative idea: products are evolving from passive tools you operate into active teammates you rely on.

Until recently, products just sat there, waiting for you to poke, prod, and instruct them. Today they’re starting to think on their own. Imagine a logistics system that reroutes deliveries mid-journey because it senses a bottleneck ahead. Or a home heating system that adjusts to changing energy prices without you lifting a finger. We’re moving from products that quietly wait for orders to products that act on their own judgment. That’s the essence of agentic architecture.

At this year's Microsoft Ignite conference, keynote speakers introduced proof-of-concepts for employee-self-service agents to answer common policy questions, meeting facilitators to take notes and nudge participants to stay on track, retail store assistants, warehouse assistance agents, and active translators to help people communicate in different languages.

This shift is both exhilarating and unsettling. On the upside, these agentic products can help companies become more adaptable and efficient. They can spot patterns before we do, self-correct when something’s off, and free up human time for more creative work. On the flip side, letting products make decisions raises questions about trust, ethics, and alignment with our broader goals. How do we know these autonomous systems won’t drift off course?

Heading into the new year, the first step is accepting that we’re not just tweaking features; we’re redefining relationships. We need cross-functional teams: engineers who can think about ethics, designers who get data, and product managers who see the forest, not just the trees. It’s about building a culture that values curiosity and breadth as much as depth.

We also need the right foundation: sturdy data pipelines, flexible infrastructure, and clear processes for continuously learning what works and what doesn’t. Agentic architecture isn’t something you master from day one. It’s an ongoing experiment. The companies that treat it as such—trying, measuring, refining—will find themselves better positioned to adapt as products inch closer to becoming partners.

Like Tony Stark learning to trust J.A.R.V.I.S., we’re learning to trust our creations in new ways. The key takeaway this year is to shift from making better products to cultivating better relationships with them. That’s the real heart of this transformation.