In the race toward AI-first platforms, we often hear the term “agentic AI” tossed around—usually with an image of a chatbot that can “do more” or a plugin system wrapped in prompts. But what does agentic actually mean? And more importantly, what makes an AI system truly agentic?

At Vortex IQ, we’ve built and deployed hundreds of agents across real-world e-commerce use cases—from monitoring inventory changes and SEO optimisations to performing backup restorations and multichannel syncs. Through this work, we’ve developed a practical framework to evaluate and design agentic systems—not just as hype, but as resilient, value-driving components of modern software.

What Is Agentic AI—Really?

The term agentic originates from psychology, where it describes the capacity for intentional action, autonomy, and self-direction. When applied to AI, an agentic system goes beyond reactive prompts or static automations. It exhibits:

  • Goal orientation (not just tasks, but intent)
  • Autonomy (acts without human nudges)
  • Memory and learning (uses context over time)
  • Adaptability (responds dynamically to change)

Tool use (executes APIs, triggers, databases, and more)

The Vortex IQ Framework for Agentic AI

Here’s our working framework—built for real-world deployment. We use this to evaluate whether a system is truly agentic, or merely an automation with AI wrapping.

Layer Description Signs of True Agency
1. Perception Ability to sense and interpret the environment or system state Observes API logs, metrics, site errors, user behaviour
2. Intent Formation Ability to form goals based on perceived state Sets goal: “restore theme settings” when config mismatch is detected
3. Planning & Reasoning Chooses actions using logic, strategy, or rules Picks backup type, evaluates dependencies before restore
4. Action Execution Executes across tools, APIs, systems Hits BigCommerce API, logs actions, re-renders config
4. Action Execution Executes across tools, APIs, systems Hits BigCommerce API, logs actions, re-renders config
5. Feedback & Adaptation Monitors outcomes, learns from results Backs off retries, escalates to human, re-plans next time

To call an AI system “agentic,” it must exhibit at least four out of five of these layers.

Real-World Example: Backup & Restore Agent

Let’s take a Vortex IQ Agent deployed in a staging environment to protect custom theme modifications.

Here’s how it stacks up:

Layer Agent Behaviour
Perception Detects code push or manual override of settings
Intent SDecides whether to trigger backup before override
Planning Checks recent backup status, compares deltas
Execution Calls BigCommerce and StagingPro APIs to store changes
Feedback Waits for confirmation, stores logs, retries on fail

Result: The agent runs independently during dev workflows, pre-empts risk, and supports rollback—all without a human in the loop.

Why This Framework Matters

A lot of “AI agents” today are actually glorified orchestrators. They run linear scripts or chain APIs using LLMs. That’s useful—but it’s not autonomous. By adopting a layered view of agency, we can:

  • Design agents for resilience (handle failure, feedback, forks)
  • Prioritise autonomy over novelty (goal-first, not UI-first)

Measure progress (track movement from LLM-in-a-loop to autonomous agent)

Where the Ecosystem Is Headed

As agentic infrastructure matures (e.g., AgentCore on AWS), the future belongs to agents that are:

  • Compositional (small agents collaborating via shared memory)
  • Goal-oriented (not task-based automation)
  • Secure and governed (RBAC, audits, timeouts)
  • API-native (integrating deeply with SaaS, not screen scraping)

At Vortex IQ, we’re building the infrastructure and execution layer to make this future real—starting with e-commerce.

Final Thoughts

If you’re designing or evaluating AI systems, ask this: Is it truly agentic? Or is it simply automating a task?

True agency doesn’t come from prompts alone. It emerges when systems perceive, plan, act, and adapt—with minimal supervision.

We hope this framework helps spark a clearer understanding of what it means to build in the agentic era.

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