Amazon Web Services has launched a new platform called Amazon Bedrock AgentCore, designed to help businesses construct a network of interconnected artificial intelligence agents capable of analyzing data, writing code, and performing various tasks. This service comes at a time when concerns about job security due to artificial intelligence are prevalent, with Ford’s CEO noting that AI could replace about half of U.S. white-collar jobs. The platform supports popular communication protocols, enabling agents to work together across different organizations and run for extended periods. While competing solutions from Microsoft, Google, and OpenAI are generally limited to their own models, Amazon’s offering is designed to be flexible, accommodating various frameworks. However, a recent Pew Research Center survey indicates that roughly 80 percent of American workers do not currently use AI in their jobs, with over half expressing apprehension about its introduction into their workplaces. A McKinsey & Company report also highlights a disconnect between employee readiness for AI integration and company expectations, revealing that employees are three times more likely to be using generative AI than their leaders anticipate.
Slack is enhancing its platform with new artificial intelligence tools designed to improve productivity and communication for users. The integration of AI writing assistance within Slack Canvas allows for the creation of project briefs and the refinement of content using natural language prompts. In addition to writing assistance, Slack is introducing AI message context, which provides explanations for organizational jargon to help new team members acclimate. The company is also expanding its AI translation capabilities, enabling team members to communicate in their preferred languages. These features are part of a broader trend in the tech industry, where companies like Google and Apple are also implementing AI-driven tools to enhance user experience across their platforms. Slack’s new features will be available to users with paid plans, with some tools rolling out throughout the year.
Why do we care?
AWS is pushing the envelope by offering a platform where AI agents:
- Collaborate across systems and organizations.
- Analyze data, write code, and persistently run over long timeframes.
- Support multiple AI frameworks (unlike Microsoft/OpenAI/Google’s model silos).
For IT services, this is a huge potential services play:
- Designing agent workflows for SMBs.
- Securing and governing multi-agent ecosystems.
- Managing integration with legacy apps and cross-org communication protocols.
It also reinforces AWS’s value proposition in being the “neutral” AI infrastructure provider, in contrast to Azure’s tight OpenAI coupling. MSPs who are AWS-heavy will have a natural runway here.