Business Automation Was Once DIY. AI Just Revived It.

2026-04-22 · Source: Towards AI - Medium · Field: Business & Management — Operations & Process Management, Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning, Entrepreneurship & Start-ups · Depth: Intermediate, long

Summary

The article argues that AI, specifically agentic AI, is poised to revive "intrapreneurship" in business automation, mirroring historical shifts seen with IBM System/360 mainframes in the 1960s and xBase tools in the 1980s. In those eras, business domain experts, not dedicated software engineers, built custom automation solutions for tasks like payroll and inventory using tools like COBOL and dBASE. This trend faded as software development became complex and specialized, forcing domain experts into roles like "requirements writers." The author contends that while current AI products are engineer-driven, a significant opportunity exists for non-engineers to use agentic AI to gradually and efficiently automate internal processes, leveraging their intimate business knowledge. However, current agentic AI tools, such as Claude Cowork, lack the simplicity of spreadsheets, multi-user capabilities, diverse interfaces, integrated build-as-you-use functionality, and structured memory required for widespread adoption by non-technical business users.

Key takeaway

For executives evaluating AI adoption strategies, recognize that the greatest long-term value may come from empowering internal domain experts with user-friendly agentic AI tools, rather than solely relying on engineer-built solutions. Focus investment on AI platforms that prioritize simplicity, multi-user functionality, diverse interfaces, and structured memory to enable widespread "intrapreneurship" and unlock deep operational efficiencies within your organization.

Key insights

Agentic AI can empower business domain experts to drive internal automation, echoing past eras of DIY business computing.

Principles

• Domain expertise is critical for effective business automation.
• Simplicity and accessibility drive tool adoption by non-engineers.

In practice

• Explore agentic AI for incremental process improvements.
• Prioritize AI tools with spreadsheet-like simplicity and multi-user features.

Topics

• Business Automation
• Agentic AI
• Domain Experts
• Intrapreneurship
• Software Engineering History

Best for: Executive, Operations Professional, Director of AI/ML, AI Product Manager

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Editorial summary, takeaway, and curation by AIssential. Original article published by Towards AI - Medium.