How digital business models are evolving in the age of agentic AI
How digital business models are evolving in the age of agentic AI
Publish Date: 2026-01-12 09:32:00
Source Domain: mitsloan.mit.edu
- MIT Center for Information Systems Research has identified four new business models for the era of agentic artificial intelligence: Existing+, Customer Proxy, Modular Creator, and Orchestrator.
- The Existing+ model augments current business practices with AI, while the Customer Proxy model uses AI to execute predefined processes that achieve customer outcomes.
- Modular Creator uses AI to assemble reusable modules to create customizable service bundles, and Orchestrator assembles an ecosystem of complementary products and services to achieve outcomes without a pre-defined process.
- The research highlights the shift in business model popularity from traditional supplier and omnichannel models to the more prevalent ecosystem driver models.
- Companies aiming to adapt these new models are advised to understand their current AI-enabled business models and the AI capabilities necessary for scaling.
- The evolving business model of One New Zealand Group serves as an example, utilizing different AI-based models for customer service and predictive maintenance.
- Researchers from MIT CISR, including Peter Weill, Ina Sebastian, Stephanie Woerner, and Gayan Benedict, stress the importance of understanding where a company can create value through AI adoption.
