What happens when AI agents can reason through problems well enough to complete real work on their own? This episode of The McKinsey Podcast offers answers to that question and more from OpenAI’s chair Bret Taylor, who is also cofounder of Sierra—which helps some of the world’s biggest companies build sophisticated AI agents, including about 40 percent of the Fortune 50. Taylor speaks with Eric Kutcher, McKinsey senior partner and chair of North America, about where AI is already reshaping customer service, sales, and software engineering; why open-weight models will always have a place despite the frontier labs’ cost advantage; and why he thinks the data center buildout—despite its real financial risk—is a bet the US needs to make. 

In this recurring series on The McKinsey Podcast, Kutcher speaks with top CEOs about the practice of leadership.

The McKinsey Podcast is regularly cohosted by Lucia Rahilly and Roberta Fusaro.

 

What happens when AI agents&nbsp;can reason through problems well enough to complete real work on their own?&nbsp;This episode of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-podcast">The McKinsey Podcast</a>&nbsp;offers answers to that question and more from OpenAI&rsquo;s chair Bret Taylor, who is also cofounder of Sierra&mdash;which helps some of the world&rsquo;s biggest companies build sophisticated AI agents, including about 40 percent of the Fortune 50.&nbsp;Taylor speaks with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/our-people/eric-kutcher">Eric Kutcher</a>, McKinsey senior partner and chair of North America, about where AI is already reshaping customer service, sales, and software engineering; why open-weight models will always have a place despite the frontier labs&rsquo; cost advantage; and why he thinks the data center buildout&mdash;despite its real financial risk&mdash;is a bet the US needs to make.&nbsp;
In this recurring series on The McKinsey Podcast, Kutcher speaks with top CEOs about the practice of leadership.
The McKinsey Podcast&nbsp;is regularly cohosted by Lucia Rahilly and Roberta Fusaro.
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The McKinsey Podcast, our new flagship podcast series, takes you inside our global firm, and features conversations with experts on issues that matter most in business and management. McKinsey & Company is a management-consulting firm that helps businesses, governments, and not-for-profit organizations realize their most important goals. Topics covered in this series include strategy, technology, leadership, marketing, operations, organization, and the role of business in society.

The McKinsey Podcast features conversations with experts from global management-consulting firm McKinsey & Company, focusing on the issues that matter most in business and management.

The McKinsey Podcast

Our flagship series The McKinsey Podcast takes you inside our global firm, and features conversations with experts on issues that matter most in business and management. McKinsey & Company is a management-consulting firm that helps businesses, governments, and not-for-profit organizations realize their most important goals. Topics covered in this series include strategy, technology, leadership, marketing, operations, organization, and the role of business in society.

Our flagship series The McKinsey Podcast takes you inside our global firm, and features conversations with experts on issues that matter most in business and management. McKinsey &amp; Company is a management-consulting firm that helps businesses, governments, and not-for-profit organizations realize their most important goals. Topics covered in this series include strategy, technology, leadership, marketing, operations, organization, and the role of business in society.