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Forbes
30-06-2025
- Business
- Forbes
How Your Business Can Harness The Power Of Agentic AI
Agentic AI will allow people to meaningful progress on work, fast. getty Even as businesses are rushing to compete in the emerging era of generative AI, a new technology is changing the game all over again. Suddenly, agentic AI is being discussed everywhere. Forrester calls it 'the next competitive frontier.' An InfoWorld column says it's 'rewriting the future of customer experience.' AdWeek says agentic AI is becoming a 'partner,' allowing people to rethink the creative process. And Amazon CEO Andy Jassy wrote a note to his staff saying the 'agentic future' is so compelling for the company because 'these agents are going to change the scope and speed at which we can innovate for customers. Agents will allow us to start almost everything from a more advanced starting point.' Given the sudden burst of interest, agentic AI risks becoming something that's all too common in business: a topic that everyone is talking about, but that few people actually understand. This creates all sorts of problems. Looking to jump on the bandwagon, organizations often invest in new tools that promise to deliver all the benefits of the latest rage. But executives don't know exactly what they're getting -- and not getting -- from those tools. They're also unaware of pitfalls, and unclear on how to ensure they're getting ROI. Don't let this happen to you. At Nextiva, our team is focused on helping organizations of all kinds improve their customer experience in the most impactful ways possible. So we're on a mission to help people wrap their minds around what agentic AI really is, and how to ensure that it's working for your business. The paradigm shift of autonomy Here's how we define the term: 'Agentic AI is an advanced level of artificial intelligence automation that adapts to new data and learns on its own. It operates autonomously and executes tasks based on real-world data. The requirement for human intervention is minimal. Agentic AI plans, reasons, and adapts to optimize complex workflows for expected outcomes.' It requires far fewer prompts than generative AI. So when designed well, it makes the customer experience (CX) seamless, moving both the customer and the organization toward key objectives. Agentic AI can achieve things that many businesses didn't see coming. For example, 'Systems can identify and address potential problems before customers report them,' according to a recent study published by the Journal of Advances in Developmental Research. These systems also operate with advanced contextual awareness, 'understanding dynamic contexts to adjust actions accordingly,' authors Ridhima Arora, Maurya Modi, and Arjun Bhalla write. 'Agentic AI represents a paradigm shift in artificial intelligence, characterized by autonomous decision-making capabilities and proactive behavior,' they conclude. Before You Dive In The potential of agentic AI makes it very enticing. But calm heads need to rule. Before adopting a solution, organizations should clearly and carefully plan out the specific functionalities they're seeking. Design use cases, which will allow you to test out specific scenarios to see how well any solution performs. You will also need to make sure that any agentic AI tool you take on can access data across the organization. It needs to comb through your data warehouses or lakes, consolidating and cleaning the records it finds. And it needs updated information whenever and wherever that information comes in, particularly involving customers. So it's best to use agentic AI as part of a unified customer experience management platform ( UCXM ) that pulls together information from every interaction in real time. In addition, all this needs to be done in a way that ensures compliance. Strict guardrails must be in place, with human oversight. Even once you've done all this and get going with agentic AI, there's still work to be done to ensure you're getting the results you need. As my team explains , 'Systems require ongoing monitoring, tuning, and adaptation to maintain effectiveness. Collect customer and employee feedback as a practice for continuous AI algorithm improvement.' While these steps are important and take time, they pale in comparison to what agentic AI can offer. No matter the size of your business or the industry you're in, the chances are that you and your customers will find this new technology to be another leap in the right direction -- with better customer experiences, and therefore better business results, providing the clearest signs.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Yes, Prime Video Has Added More Ads Lately — Like, a Lot More
You're not imagining things: It does take longer to watch a TV show on Prime Video these days. The ad load on Amazon's streaming service has essentially doubled in recent months, from two and a half to three minutes of commercials per hour to four to six minutes per hour, according to a report from AdWeek. More from TVLine Jesse Williams' Amazon Action-Drama Sets Release Date - Also, Watch a Trailer for Hotel Costiera Casting News: Outlander Star Joins The Forsytes, Rings of Power Adds Trio and More The Summer I Turned Pretty: Love Blooms (and Taylor Swift Plays) in New Season 3 Trailer 'Prime Video ad load has gradually increased to four to six minutes per hour,' an Amazon representative admitted in an email to an ad buyer earlier this month. Amazon defended the move in a statement: 'While demand continues to grow, our commitment is to improving ad experiences rather than simply increasing the number of ads shown.' Prime Video was ad-free when it debuted in 2006 as an add-on to Amazon's Prime subscription service that offers free delivery of Amazon products for an annual fee. In January 2024, though, Prime Video introduced ads on all of its films and TV shows, asking subscribers to pay an additional $2.99 per month fee for an ad-free experience. (Other streamers like Netflix, Hulu and Disney+ all offer cheaper subscription tiers with ads as well.) 'This change will allow us to continue investing in compelling content and keep increasing that investment over a long period of time,' the streamer said in a message to subscribers at the time, adding: 'We aim to have meaningfully fewer ads than linear TV and other streaming TV providers.' Have you noticed the uptick in ads on Prime Video shows lately? Is it making you more likely to pay for no ads, or more likely to drop Prime Video altogether? Let us know in the comments! Best of TVLine 'Missing' Shows, Found! Get the Latest on Ahsoka, Monarch, P-Valley, Sugar, Anansi Boys and 25+ Others Yellowjackets Mysteries: An Up-to-Date List of the Series' Biggest Questions (and Answers?) The Emmys' Most Memorable Moments: Laughter, Tears, Historical Wins, 'The Big One' and More
Time of India
13-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Amazon Prime Video's ad supported tier users may be facing a new 'problem'
Amazon Prime Video users on the ad-supported tier may be facing an increased number of commercials. The streaming platform owned by the e-commerce giant has reportedly doubled the ads it served per hour. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now This rumoured change comes after Amazon introduced advertisements to its Prime Video streaming service last year, with an initial promise of a light and uniterreputing experience. According to a report by Adweek, the latest move aims to increase monetisation from its audience. The ad supported tier isn't available in India yet, but Amazon has announced that Prime Video content in India will include "limited advertisements" beginning June 17. As per the report, Amazon Prime Video has doubled its ad load to 'four to six minutes per hour,' up from the two to three-and-a-half minutes promised when ads launched in January 2024. An Amazon spokesperson has even confirmed the increase to AdWeek but the reported didn't specify any details. However, the report cited industry sources to claim that the company has quietly signaled the same to investors for months. Why Amazon is increasing ad times for Prime Video users This surge in ad time is part of Amazon's broader push to monetise its streaming investment that will help the company invest billions into originals like The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and The Boys, the report claims. Earlier this year, reports surfaced that Amazon would auction off ad spots and deploy more targeted, context-driven ads using its extensive consumer data. While advertisers may welcome these changes, viewers see their experience as collateral damage. To compare, Prime Video rival Netflix , has also avoided ads for years but eventually introduced an ad-supported tier to attract viewers deterred by price hikes. The report notes that streaming services often launch with generous pricing to outcompete rivals, then raise prices or increase monetisation once they dominate the market. India's New AC Rule: Cooling Between 20°C–28°C Explained
The Sun
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Amazon Prime subscribers rage over ‘annoying' change affecting TV shows and say they will ‘definitely be cancelling'
PRIME viewers may start to notice more ads when watching their favourite shows and movies as Amazon ramps up changes. Adverts were first introduced onto the platform in January last year, with an option to pay extra if you want to avoid them. 2 They started at around two to three minutes per hour. But it appears to be have been quietly doubled. Sources told AdWeek that the number of ads has gradually increased to four to six minutes per hour. A spokesperson for Amazon responded to the publication, saying "Our commitment is to improving ad experiences rather than simply increasing the number of ads shown. "While demand continues to grow, our commitment is to improving ad experiences rather than simply increasing the number of ads shown." But users have already started raging about the quiet change and are threatening to cancel their subscription as a result. "My Prime account is up for renewal in August," one person wrote on Reddit. "I will definitely be cancelling. "Not only are the ads numerous, they are sometimes double in volume (loudness). I can't always hit the mute button fast enough." Another said: " It's always take take take. Take and squeeze as much as possible." A third added: "Canceled this c**p as soon as they announced ads in the first place. "People keep paying for these services that continue to get worse and more expensive. That's the real problem." 2 SWITCH TO FREE STREAMING By Jamie Harris, Assistant Technology and Science Editor If you're tired of paying out on several streaming services like Netflix and Disney+ then there are a growing number of free alternatives around. While many of these alternatives have been filled with obscure content, more big names like Sky have got on board in recent years offering some quality stuff, which is largely archive but still entertaining. As well as UKTV, Sony and 5 are among the other players getting involved. If you haven't already, give Pluto TV a go, it's available on pretty much all devices including Fire TV Sticks. On there you'll find channels from MTV, with Catfish and Geordie Shore. Some of the classics are real gems too - I found myself watching long-forgotten episodes of Sabrina the Teenage Witch the other day.
Digital Trends
12-06-2025
- Business
- Digital Trends
Why Prime Video may be getting more annoying for some folks
If you're a paid-up member of Amazon Prime and watch stuff on Prime Video, have you noticed anything different lately, such as more ads interrupting your viewing experience? The video streaming service is now showing up to six minutes of ads per hour, double what it was showing when it introduced ads in January 2024, according to a report by AdWeek. Recommended Videos For those following such developments closely, the increase may not come as a big surprise as there were reports as far back as October 2024 suggesting that Amazon was planning to increase the number of ads on Prime Video during this year. When Amazon launched ads nearly 18 months ago, the company made it an opt-out option. This meant that Amazon Prime subscribers who wanted an ad-free experience had to pay an extra $3 a month on top of their annual fee of $139 (or $15 a month). The company said last year that it hadn't seen a sharp drop in subscribers since it launched ads for the service, though with more ads now appearing before, during, and after shows on the streaming service, some disgruntled subscribers may be considering forking out the extra $3 a month to remove the ads, or taking the more drastic step of ditching the service altogether. For Amazon, more ads should lead to an increase in ad revenue, allowing it to invest more money in content and technology that it hopes will lead to a better service for subscribers. The trick, of course, is to strike the right balance between ad frequency and keeping viewers engaged and satisfied with the service. Amazon was slow to the game when it came to launching an ad tier for its video streaming service. Netflix introduced an ad-supported option in November 2022, while Disney+ did the same just a month later. Apple TV+ has yet to offer such a tier. Prime Video currently has a heavier ad load than both Netflix and Disney+, though it's still considerably lighter than regular TV. If there are any signs that Prime Video viewers are turning off due to excessive ads, you can bet that Amazon will respond accordingly.
