As McKinsey maps the Agentic AI future, one ASX name is already in the mix
Decidr lands in the sweet spot of automation
McKinsey's trillion-dollar prediction is already underway
Something big is stirring in the world of AI, and consultants at world-renowned McKinsey have given it a name.
They're calling this moment the 'Dawn of Agentic AI,' a shift from machines that think to machines that do.
They're talking about autonomous digital workers that plan, act, and learn, leaving the old guard of rule-based systems in the dust.
McKinsey says these systems, built atop foundation models, can break down multi-step tasks, talk to humans, and actually deliver real outcomes.
It's the leap from 'tell me more' to 'get it done'.
McKinsey says AI agents will work with people, taking on the grunt work so teams can focus on what actually needs human brainpower.
They call it 'human in the loop.' The idea is to automate complexity, not creativity.
It's not about replacing people, but supporting them, especially in jobs that involve high-volume, high-friction tasks that slow teams down.
This is how you unlock real AI value, say McKinsey
McKinsey also reckons most companies are going about it wrong.
The temptation is to bolt AI agents onto existing systems, treat them like smart plugins.
But that just creates more mess.
What actually works, they say, is to redesign the entire workflow around the AI agent (instead of people), where companies should rethink how the job gets done from start to finish.
That's when the big value shows up.
How big could Agentic AI be?
Try between US$2.6-4.4 trillion in annual global economic value, McKinsey said.
Not from one sector, but across the board: sales, customer service, software, finance, R&D, and HR.
The number sounds wild, but the logic checks out if you think about it.
If you can automate high-effort processes that humans have been slogging through for decades, and do it reliably, at scale, it changes everything.
McKinsey also pointed out that businesses chasing that value need to get three things right.
First, agents need to work across systems, no more data trapped in silos.
Second, they need proper governance and monitoring so they don't go rogue. And third, they need to be usable by non-tech teams.
McKinsey's final message is this: the companies that win in this next wave won't be the ones with the flashiest demos.
They will be the ones that actually redesign how work happens, build AI into the fabric of their org, and scale it with discipline.
Betting on the future of work
Decidr Ai Industries (ASX:DAI) may be the only ASX-listed company that's building exactly what McKinsey describes.
The company is creating teams of smart agents designed to handle real work, like chatting with potential customers, managing the hiring process, or crafting marketing content.
Imagine this: You say, 'Plan a marketing campaign that targets small businesses in Queensland next quarter.'
An agentic AI won't just hand you a slide deck. It will dig into your database and come up with ideas. It will also run A/B tests, adjust the pitch, schedule social posts.
Over in marketing, a content agent crafts blog posts, writes ads, optimises for SEO.
Meanwhile, a recruitment agent hunts candidates, schedules interviews, and manages the screening process.
All of these agents are launched through Decidr's Onboarding Studio, so businesses can get full AI teams up and running in minutes, no coding needed.
Even better, these agents plug right into the systems companies already use: email, finance tools, HR software, working together without manual handoffs or data silos.
On a mission
Decidr is also positioning itself right where McKinsey says the biggest shift is about to happen.
Industries that are drowning in complexity – like recruitment, onboarding, sales, and content – are crying out for smarter automation.
Its platform has landed right in that sweet spot, and since rebranding from Live Verdure in March, Decidr's been busy.
Like teaming up with AWS Venture Studio for cloud grunt and LLM access, cutting deals with Sugarwork in the US, and automating onboarding for 1500 SME listings via SBX back home.
It's also joined the Tech Council of Australia, a flag in the sand for AI governance.
Meanwhile, CareerOne's revenue has doubled in June using Decidr's agents, with job match performance up 8x.
And Growth Faculty is already earning subscriptions from Decidr-powered AI Mentors.
Bringing the future forward
There are still hurdles ahead for Decidr, of course.
Expanding into the US will test trust and traction. Regulatory frameworks are evolving, and public markets haven't exactly been kind to early-stage tech.
And McKinsey has been blunt: the real value in agentic AI won't come from novelty or hype, but from rethinking how work actually gets done.
Decidr, though, isn't pitching some distant future. It's already rolling out the kind of agentic systems that industries are scrambling to adopt right now.
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ABC News
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Firstly, it says global demand for education in Australia had grown solidly in the decade prior to the pandemic. It says that reflected a range of factors, including rising household disposable income in Asia, the active promotion of Australia as an education destination, and changes to migration policies that enabled higher education students to work in Australia after their studies. Other factors included global population growth, and the depreciation of the Australian dollar after the mining boom. But it says with the introduction of border restrictions in March 2020 to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus, new students were unable to enter Australia. And as a result, the number of international students fell sharply. Then, after Australia's international borders reopened in late 2021, the number of international students onshore rose rapidly. You can see that in the graph above. But while student arrivals quickly returned to around pre-pandemic levels after borders reopened, the number of students departing Australia were lower than normal because there were fewer students living in Australia to begin with (thanks to the huge number of students that departed Australia during the COVID lockdowns). The RBA says that unusual dynamic contributed to the total stock of international students living in Australia rising sharply from just under 300,000 in 2022 to 560,000 by the end of 2023. "Accordingly, international students were an important driver of net overseas migration during that period, accounting for around half of Australia's total net overseas migration," the RBA says. The RBA says an important area in which international students contribute to demand is in the housing market. It says foreign students are more likely to rent than Australian residents. 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The RBA says that in theory, when it comes to property prices and rents, in the face of a relatively fixed supply of housing in the short term, we would expect an increase in international students to put upward pressure on rental demand and rents (all else equal), in the same way that any kind of increase in the renting population would impact demand. But it doesn't think they had a huge impact on rents in Australia in recent years. "As a back-of-the-envelope exercise, if we assume that 50 per cent of international students rent, an additional 100,000 students would increase private rental demand by 50,000 individuals," it says. "Models of the housing market used by the RBA suggest that a 50,000 increase in population would raise private rents by around 0.5 per cent compared with a baseline projection. "The marginal effect of an additional renter may be greater in periods where the rental market is tight and vacancy rates are low, such as occurred post-pandemic. "Nonetheless, the rise in international student numbers is likely to have accounted for only a small share of the rise in rents since the onset of the pandemic, with much of the rise in advertised rents occurring before borders were reopened," it argues. The RBA says that with time, higher demand for housing due to a greater number of international students in Australia could spur more dwelling investment, in the way it would for an expansion of the population more broadly. "One area where higher international student numbers have generated a supply response has been in purpose-built student accommodation, with rapid growth in building approvals for such projects in recent years. "Industry projections are for continued rapid growth in this area in the years ahead," it says. The RBA says international students also make an important contribution to the labour market. 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"EMVision have world-leading neurologists advising them along with huge luminary hospitals in the US like Mayo and Mt Sinnai, which are now scanning and enrolling patients,' she said, noting there are around 12.5 million strokes globally each year with 6.5 million dying annually. "It is a big burden of disease and one in four people globally over 25 will have a stroke in their lifetime, which has increased 50% over the past 17 years. "With stroke every minute counts and the outcome is heavily influenced by how quick the treatment is delivered. "Both the emu and First Responder will fill a gap where CT is just not practical and means the clinician who needs to make a quick treatment decision can do that effectively." She added that in the future there will also be interest in how the devices could be used to promptly diagnose TBI. "That is down the track, but it has great potential with studies underway at the John Hunter and the Princess Alexandra Hospital that will allow us to begin evaluating traumatic brain injury using our technology." Australia's global edge in health innovation Mongahan said Australia had long punched above its weight in health innovation, producing homegrown companies that have made a global impact. From hospitals to high-tech medical devices, the nation has cultivated a strong foundation in scientific research and clinical excellence – factors that continue to drive international success. She pointed to ASX-listed healthcare heavyweights such as Ramsay, blood products leader CSL (ASX:CSL), hearing implant pioneer Cochlear (ASX:COH), diagnostics and imaging specialist Sonic Healthcare (ASX:SHL), and sleep disorder device manufacturer ResMed (ASX:RMD) as world-class companies. "I have always admired how fantastic Australia is with healthcare and it's because we have such well-trained doctors and good scientific research," she said. "They've all been amazing, admirable companies which have been able to successfully transition overseas. "I think it's exciting how Australia has always performed so strongly in the health field, driven by world-class scientific research and highly trained medical professionals." At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While EMVision is a Stockhead advertiser, it did not sponsor this article.
