People, agents, and robots: how to redesign work in the age of AI

For years we have talked about automation as a threat or as a promise of efficiency. Today the debate is different. Artificial Intelligence is no longer just a tool: it's a new player within the organization.

The recent McKinsey Global Institute report, “Agents, robots, and us: Skill partnerships in the age of AI”, provides a particularly relevant insight for management teams: the real impact of AI is not in replacing people, but in redesigning how work is done.

At BMF Consultancy we see it clearly: the competitive advantage will not come from "having AI", but from intelligently integrating it into the strategy, processes and capabilities of the team.

Automation is not the destination, it is the starting point

The report indicates that, with today's technology, there is significant technical potential to automate a substantial portion of current tasks. However, McKinsey is clear on one key point: automating tasks does not equate to transforming an organization.

True transformation occurs when companies stop thinking in isolated functions and begin to redesign entire workflows, combining:

• People (criteria, context, leadership)

• AI agents (analysis, speed, consistency)

• Robots and physical automation (execution and scalability)

The strategic question is no longer which tasks to automate, but how the work system as a whole should function.

Skills don't disappear: they just change location

One of the report's most powerful messages is that more than 70% of current skills will remain relevant, albeit applied in a different way.

In practice, this implies a shift of the value towards:

• Problem definition and decision making

• Critical interpretation of AI-generated results

• Quality control and supervision

• Continuous process optimization

• Teaching, training, and coordinating intelligent systems

AI does not eliminate human work; it raises the bar for value-added work.

“AI fluency”: a new managerial skill

McKinsey highlights the exponential growth of so-called AI fluency : the ability to understand, use, and govern AI tools on a daily basis.

And here's a key point for senior management: it's not about everyone programming, but about everyone knowing how to program.

• Ask good questions

• Understanding limits and risks

• Making informed decisions with AI support

• Integrating technology into real business processes

Without this fluidity, AI remains at pilot level. With it, it becomes a strategic lever.

The risk of investing in AI without redesigning the organization

The report is clear on this point: the economic potential of AI is enormous, but it only materializes when the organization changes.

Investing in technology without:

• redefine roles,

• review processes,

• adapt incentives,

• and develop new capabilities,

This leads to a very common scenario: high spending, low impact.

From our experience, this is one of the most frequent mistakes in transformation projects.

The BMF vision: AI as a strategic, not technological, challenge

At BMF Consultancy we fully share the approach of the McKinsey Global Institute: AI is not an IT project, it's a project of leadership, strategy and organizational change.

The organizations that will move forward successfully will be those capable of:

• Think about work systems, not tools

• Anticipating skill changes

• Supporting their teams through the transition

• Translating technology into decisions and results

As in other transformation processes, the advantage lies not in going faster, but in being better oriented.

source:

McKinsey Global Institute (2025). Agents, robots, and us: Skill partnerships in the age of AI.