We are rapidly hitting the natural ceiling of the “chatbot era.”
For the last three years, the dominant AI strategy has been refining human-to-machine conversation. Weโve built better models and smoother interfaces, essentially trying to make software “talk” like a human. We have automated the retrieval and summarization of information.
But as we look toward 2026, simply making AI talk better won’t generate competitive advantage. To understand the necessary strategic pivot, consider this insight from Paulo Coelho:
“๐๐ฆ ๐ค๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ท๐ฆ. ๐๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ญ๐บ ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ง๐ญ๐บ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ด๐ต๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ฎ๐ช๐ต๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฃ๐ช๐ณ๐ฅ๐ด.”
๐๐ก๐ “๐๐ข๐ซ๐ ๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง” ๐๐ซ๐๐ฉ
For centuries, humans failed to fly because we were obsessed with flapping wings. We thought flight meant mimicking nature. We only succeeded when we stopped imitating birds and built fixed wings and enginesโmechanisms that looked different but achieved the outcome of flight far more effectively.
Right now, many enterprises are still flapping their wings.
We are forcing complex business processes into chat interfaces. While useful for triage, the chat box is a bottleneck for true cognitive work. It mimics human interaction, rather than leveraging machine speed and scale.
๐๐๐๐: ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ญ
If the current phase is imitation, 2026 is about flight. The strategic advantage will shift from Conversational Bots to Autonomous AI Agents.
The difference is the move from imitation to agency:
๐น ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ก๐๐ญ๐๐จ๐ญ tells you the steps required to fix a supply chain disruption. It chats with you about the problem.
๐น ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ญ detects the delay, re-routes the shipment, updates the ERP, and simply asks for your final sign-off.
The future isn’t a better chat interface; it is cognitive orchestration.
๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ญ๐๐ ๐ข๐ ๐๐๐ง๐๐๐ญ๐
To prepare for 2026, stop asking, “How can we add a chat interface to this workflow?”
Start asking, “If we stop imitating human conversation, what outcomes can we empower an agent to execute autonomously?”
Don’t just build a better bird. Build the engine.
AIstrategy #AIAgents #2026 #FutureOfWork #EnterpriseAI
M.Y. Lessons Learnt 