How to Scale Smarter with AI Agents and Automation – Wharton Scale School

Why It Matters

Scaling with AI agents transforms productivity and customer acquisition, turning costly experimentation into measurable business outcomes. Firms that redesign workflows now will capture the competitive edge before AI‑driven automation becomes the industry norm.

Key Takeaways

• AI ROI will emerge after workflow redesign and upskilling.
• AI agents can automate routine tasks, freeing humans for judgment.
• Hybrid human‑AI teams boost productivity in engineering and growth.
• Customer decisions increasingly driven by AI, reducing click‑through rates.
• Successful scaling requires integrating agents both internally and externally.

Summary

The Wharton Scale School event explored how companies move from AI experimentation to execution, emphasizing that the next growth wave hinges on deploying AI agents and automation at scale. Speakers highlighted the historical "IT productivity paradox"—massive tech spend without immediate gains—and argued that AI faces a similar lag unless firms redesign workflows, reskill staff, and embed agents throughout the organization. Key insights included the division of labor between humans and AI: judgment‑heavy tasks remain human‑led, routine coding and data work can be fully automated, and many processes will operate in hybrid modes where AI handles grunt work while humans set direction and validate outcomes. Real‑world examples ranged from engineering teams that could shrink dramatically by leveraging code‑generation agents to growth marketing squads that run dozens of experiments per quarter using AI‑driven GTM workflows. Notable data points underscored the shift in customer behavior: 60% of Google searches now end without a click, and 90% of B2B buying journeys involve AI at some stage. John Carr’s plan to lay off most engineers in favor of AI‑generated code and the travel‑booking scenario where a user prefers a fully autonomous itinerary illustrate how agents are becoming decision‑makers, not just tools. The implication for businesses is clear: to capture AI’s promised ROI, leaders must overhaul processes, invest in upskilling, and treat agents as both internal collaborators and external customer interfaces. Companies that fail to integrate AI agents risk losing relevance as customers and partners increasingly rely on autonomous, AI‑driven solutions.

Original Description

ABOUT THE EVENT

Wharton Scale School, Spring 2026

"Scaling Smarter With AI 2.0: Navigating the Next Wave of AI"

AI 2.0 marks the shift from experimentation to true business transformation. Join Professor Kartik Hosanagar and leading founders and operators of companies using AI to explore how AI can become a powerful engine for scale. This session unpacks common pitfalls and challenges, clarifies what companies need to build versus what tools can be deployed immediately, and highlights how AI agents can take on much of the work traditionally done by growth teams.

Participants learn what agents do well, how human roles are evolving, and how to design a modern growth team where people and AI agents collaborate effectively. With practical frameworks, real examples, and actionable guidance, this conversation offers a roadmap for spotting high-value AI opportunities and integrating them to drive growth, efficiency, and competitive advantage.

Speakers:

- Lori Rosenkopf – Simon and Midge Palley Professor of Management, Vice Dean of Entrepreneurship, The Wharton School

- Kartik Hosanagar – John C. Hower Professor of Operations, Information & Decisions, Professor of Marketing, The Wharton School

- Jon Carr-Harris – Founder and CEO, CRED

- Prasad Thammineni, WG’07 – Founder & CEO, Agentman

(Recorded on April 22, 2026)

00:00 Introduction

02:45 Scaling with AI: The AI ROI paradox, the unifying frame

24:30 Panelist introductions

27:12 Reimagining engineering with AI

37:33 The role of digital twins

42:19 AI disruption in medicine

45:04 The cost of incorporating AI agents

46:29 Managing company workforces in the age of AI

52:12 Addressing potential friction and sabotage with AI agents

56:30 Managing noise when using AI agents to automate GTM strategy

1:00:19 Closing remarks

ABOUT THE SERIES:

Wharton Scale School, hosted in conjunction with Wharton’s Lifelong Learning initiative in San Francisco, is designed to guide Bay Area entrepreneurs making the crucial transition from successful startup to scalable enterprise. Our series addresses the critical challenges faced by rapidly growing companies and provides actionable insights and solutions from industry experts.

#Wharton #ScalingBusiness #AIAgents #AgenticAI #AIForBusiness

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