WTF is an Agenticist?

Since dubbing the term I get a lot of: "What exactly is an Agenticist? Do I need some special certification or degree?" The answer usually surprises people. You don't need a PhD in computer science or a fancy certificate hanging on your wall. You just need to think differently about problems.

Here's the thing that blows my mind: I've met marketing managers who are better agenticists than some software engineers. I've worked with school principals who intuitively understand agentic thinking better than data scientists with decades of experience. Because being an agenticist isn't about what you know - it's about how you think.

The Real Agenticist Definition (That No One Talks About)

An agenticist is someone who defaults to asking "what's the agentic way to approach this?" before considering traditional solutions. That's it. No masters degree required.

When you're facing a problem - whether it's scheduling meetings, analyzing customer feedback, or planning your quarterly strategy - an agenticist's first instinct is to think: "How can AI help me think through this differently?" Not just "how can I automate this task" but "how can AI become my thinking partner on this challenge?"

I coined this term because I was tired of watching incredibly smart people limit themselves to job titles like "marketing manager who uses AI" or "consultant leveraging artificial intelligence." These descriptions miss the fundamental shift that's happening. Agenticists don't just use AI. They collaborate with AI. There's a huge difference.

Why Most People Miss the Point Completely

Recently, when I started sharing this concept, someone immediately started asking about coding bootcamps and machine learning courses to "become an agenticist." I had to stop them right there.

"Do you think with AI when you're solving problems?" I asked.

"Well, I use ChatGPT sometimes for research..."

"No, do you bring AI into your thinking process from the very beginning? Do you collaborate with AI to explore solutions you wouldn't have considered on your own?"

The room got quiet. Because that's when it clicked for everyone. This isn't about technical skills. It's about rewiring how your brain approaches challenges.

I see this misunderstanding everywhere. People think they need to become programmers or data scientists to be agenticists. Meanwhile, I know a small business owner who uses AI to completely reimagine her customer service approach, a teacher who collaborates with AI to create personalized learning paths for each student, and a financial advisor who thinks with AI to help clients see investment opportunities from angles neither human nor AI would discover alone.

None of them can code. All of them are natural agenticists.

The Agenticist Mindset in Action

Let me give you some real examples of how agenticist thinking differs from traditional problem-solving:

Traditional Approach to Customer Complaints:

Read the complaint
Categorize it
Route to appropriate department
Follow standard procedure
Send response

Agenticist Approach to Customer Complaints: "AI, help me understand what this customer is really trying to achieve. What are the underlying frustrations beyond what they're explicitly saying? What solutions could we explore together that address both their stated problem and their deeper needs? How can we turn this interaction into something that strengthens our relationship rather than just resolves an issue?"

See the difference? The agenticist isn't using AI to automate steps 1-5. They're collaborating with AI to completely reframe the entire challenge.

Traditional Project Planning:

Set deadlines
Assign tasks
Track progress
Adjust when things go wrong

Agenticist Project Planning: "AI, let's think through this project together. What scenarios am I not considering? What dependencies might create problems I'm not seeing? How can we build adaptability into this plan so it improves as we learn? What would success look like from angles I haven't thought about?"

The agenticist brings AI into the strategic thinking, not just the execution.

Why This Matters More Than You Realize

Here's what I've learned after working with businesses: the companies that get this mindset shift are pulling ahead dramatically. Not because they have better AI tools - everyone has access to the same tools - but because they have people who think agentically.

I'm working with a small marketing agency right now. Their biggest competitor has 10x the budget and access to the same AI platforms. But this small agency has three team members who naturally think like agenticists. Instead of using AI to write more blog posts faster, they collaborated with AI to understand their clients' audiences in ways their competitor couldn't match.

They would start client strategy sessions with prompts like: "Help us think through what this company's customers really value, beyond what traditional market research shows us. What behavioral patterns suggest opportunities we're missing? How can we approach this campaign in ways that create genuine connection rather than just driving clicks?"

Their competitor was using AI to pump out content. This agency was using AI to think deeper. Guess who started winning bigger clients?

The Four Pillars of Agentic Thinking

As I've been developing this concept and observing how people naturally approach AI collaboration, I've identified four core thinking patterns that separate agenticists from AI users:

1. Partnership Over Tools

Traditional thinker: "I need AI to help me write this email faster." Agenticist: "AI, let's think together about what this person really needs to hear and how we can communicate in a way that strengthens our working relationship."

The difference is collaboration versus utilization. Agenticists invite AI into their thinking process, not just their task execution.

2. Questions Over Answers

Traditional thinker: "What's the best way to do X?" Agenticist: "AI, what questions should we be asking about X that I'm not thinking to ask? What assumptions am I making that we should challenge together?"

Agenticists use AI to expand their thinking, not just to get quick solutions.

3. Systems Over Tasks

Traditional thinker: "How can I automate this repetitive work?" Agenticist: "How can AI help me design a better system where this type of work either becomes unnecessary or transforms into something more valuable?"

Agenticists think about reimagining entire approaches, not just optimizing existing processes.

4. Emergence Over Control

Traditional thinker: "I need AI to do exactly what I tell it to do." Agenticist: "What can AI and I discover together that neither of us would find alone?"

Agenticists embrace the unexpected insights that come from genuine collaboration.

Where Agenticists Are Already Changing Everything

The beautiful thing about agentic thinking is that it works in every field. You don't need to be in tech. In fact, some of the most impressive agentic applications I've seen are in traditionally non-technical industries.

Education: I'm seeing educators who collaborate with AI to understand each student's learning style, emotional state, and knowledge gaps. They don't use AI to grade papers faster - they use AI to think more deeply about how to connect with each individual child. The results are remarkable improvements in student engagement and understanding.

Healthcare: I'm seeing family doctors use AI not for diagnosis (that would be inappropriate and dangerous), but to think through patient interactions more thoughtfully. "Help me consider what this patient might be experiencing that they're not comfortable expressing directly. What questions should I ask to make them feel heard and understood?" The impact on patient satisfaction is significant.

Sales: Instead of using AI to write follow-up emails, forward-thinking sales professionals collaborate with AI to understand what each prospect truly values and fears. "Help me think about this person's business challenges from their perspective. What would genuine helpfulness look like in this situation?" The results speak for themselves.

Legal: Lawyers are beginning to use AI to think through case strategies more comprehensively. Not to replace legal research or judgment, but to explore angles and considerations they might not think to examine. "What arguments might opposing counsel make that I should be prepared for? What client concerns am I not addressing?"

Notice the pattern? None of these examples involve complex technical implementation. They're all about bringing AI into the thinking process as a collaborative partner.

Why Some People Just Don't Get It (And That's Okay)

I'll be honest - not everyone can make this mental shift. I've worked with incredibly smart people who just can't wrap their heads around thinking WITH AI instead of just using AI. They keep asking "but what specific prompts should I use?" or "what's the best AI tool for X task?"

They're missing the point entirely. It's not about the right prompts or the best tools. It's about developing a partnership mindset. Some people are naturally collaborative thinkers. Others prefer clear, structured, step-by-step processes. Neither approach is wrong, but only one leads to thinking like as agenticist.

Here's what I've noticed: people who struggle with agentic thinking often have a strong need to maintain control. They want to know exactly what AI will do before they start. They're uncomfortable with emergence and unexpected insights. They prefer predictable outcomes over potentially transformative ones.

And honestly? That's perfectly fine. The world needs both types of thinkers. But organizations that want to leverage AI for genuine competitive advantage need at least some people who can think agentically.

The Economic Reality of Agenticists

This isn't just philosophical - there are serious economic implications. Companies with agenticists are becoming more adaptive, more innovative, and more efficient. Not because they're automating more tasks, but because they're solving problems in fundamentally better ways.

I see it in the consulting work I do. Organizations with traditional AI adoption patterns show incremental improvements - maybe 10-20% efficiency gains in specific areas. Organizations with agentic thinkers show transformational changes - 2x improvements in customer satisfaction, 3x faster innovation cycles, 50% reduction in time-to-market for new products.

The difference isn't in the AI technology they're using. The difference is in how they're thinking about problems.

How to Know If You're Already an Agenticist

Here's a simple test: Think about the last complex challenge you faced. When you approached that problem, did you:

A. Think through it yourself first, then consider where AI might help speed up specific tasks

B. Immediately start exploring the problem with AI as a thinking partner from the very beginning

If you chose B, congratulations - you're already thinking like an agenticist. If you chose A, you're not wrong, but you're also not maximizing what's possible when human intelligence and artificial intelligence truly collaborate.

Another indicator: Do you find yourself surprised by insights that emerge from your conversations with AI? Do you discover solutions you wouldn't have thought of on your own? Do you actually enjoy the back-and-forth exploration process? That's agentic thinking in action.

The Future Belongs to Agentic Organizations

Here's my prediction: by 2026, every successful organization will have people who think agentically. Not necessarily with "Agenticist" in their job title, but with the mindset embedded in how they approach challenges.

The companies that figure this out first will have insurmountable advantages. They'll be faster, more creative, more adaptive, and more effective. Not because they have better AI tools - everyone will have access to increasingly powerful AI - but because they have people who know how to collaborate with AI to achieve outcomes that pure automation could never deliver.

We're already seeing this in forward-thinking organizations. Marketing teams that collaborate with AI to understand customer psychology at deeper levels. Product teams that work with AI to explore user needs from unexpected angles. Executive teams that bring AI into strategic planning to identify opportunities and risks they wouldn't see otherwise.

Starting Your Journey To Being An Agenticist (No Degree Required)

If you want to develop agentic thinking, forget about courses and certifications. Instead, start practicing collaborative thinking with AI:

This Week: Pick one recurring challenge in your work. Instead of solving it the way you normally would, start a conversation with AI about it. Don't ask for solutions - ask for help thinking through the problem from different angles. What emerges from that collaboration?

Next Month: Identify a project or decision you're working on. Invite AI to be your thinking partner throughout the entire process. Not just for research or content creation, but for strategic thinking, creative exploration, and problem reframing.

This Quarter: Look for opportunities to help others in your organization experience agentic thinking. Share examples of how collaborative AI thinking led to better outcomes. Don't preach about it - just demonstrate the results.

The goal isn't to become an AI expert. The goal is to become someone who naturally thinks with AI as a collaborative partner. That mindset shift will serve you regardless of what new AI tools emerge or how the technology evolves.

Why This Movement Is Just Beginning

The agenticist mindset is spreading, but we're still in the early stages. Most people are still stuck in the "AI as advanced tool" paradigm. They're using AI to do things faster rather than to think about things differently.

But I see the shift happening. In boardrooms, classrooms, creative studios, and strategy sessions around the world, more people are discovering what becomes possible when human intelligence and artificial intelligence genuinely collaborate.

The organizations that embrace this shift first will define the next decade of business innovation. The individuals who develop agentic thinking will become invaluable regardless of their industry or role.

Because being an agenticist isn't about knowing how to code or understanding machine learning algorithms. It's about asking "what's the agentic way to approach this?" and then having the courage to explore the unexpected possibilities that emerge from that question.

And that's a mindset anyone can develop.

Ready to explore how an Agenticist can transform your business? At Algarch, we help organizations develop AI-first approaches that go beyond automation to genuine collaboration. Let's discover what becomes possible when your team starts thinking agentically.