Data and statistics verified as of: January 2026
IFS, the enterprise software giant, declared 2026 the year AI moves "From Hype to Habit." They're right-but the statement undersells the transformation. We're not just seeing more AI adoption. We're witnessing a fundamental shift in what AI does: from automation (executing predefined tasks) to agency (pursuing goals autonomously).
This distinction matters because most "AI-powered" procurement tools are automation dressed up in marketing language. They trigger when conditions are met. They follow scripts. They wait for input.
Agentic AI doesn't wait. It hunts.
What Is the Difference Between Automation and Agentic AI?
The distinction is simple but profound:
| Characteristic | Automation | Agentic AI |
|---|---|---|
| Core Function | Executes predefined rules faster | Pursues goals autonomously |
| Trigger | Waits for specific conditions | Proactively scans for opportunities and risks |
| Decision-Making | If-then logic | Contextual reasoning and prioritization |
| Adaptability | Breaks when conditions change | Adjusts approach based on new information |
| Example | Auto-reply: "We received your email" | Draft escalation email because supplier hasn't responded in 3 days and the due date is in 5 days |
Automation is "doing the same thing faster." An auto-reply email. A scheduled report. A workflow that fires when a field changes. Useful, but fundamentally reactive.
Agentic AI is "achieving a goal autonomously." The goal isn't "send an email when X happens." The goal is "ensure this part arrives by Tuesday." The agent decides what actions are necessary to achieve that goal-and executes them.
What Does an AI Agent Actually Do? The 2:00 AM Scenario
Here's what separates Sotro from automation tools:
It's 2:00 AM. Your buyers are asleep. Your suppliers are in different time zones. Your ERP is static.
The Sotro Copilot wakes up.
It scans 500 active Purchase Orders across your supply base. It cross-references expected delivery dates against supplier communication patterns. It notices something:
- Supplier X hasn't responded to the last confirmation request-sent 3 days ago.
- The due date for PO-2024-1847 is in 5 business days.
- Supplier X's historical response latency is 1.2 days. A 3-day silence is an anomaly.
- The Supplier Reliability Index (SRI) for this vendor has dropped 15 points this week.
An automation tool would do nothing. No rule was triggered. No threshold was crossed. The PO isn't "late" yet.
The Sotro Copilot takes action:
- Drafts an escalation email to Supplier X, referencing the specific PO and requesting urgent confirmation.
- Creates a prioritized task for the buyer, flagged for first thing in the morning.
- Proposes a status change from "On Track" to "At Risk" in the dashboard.
- Logs the reasoning so the buyer understands why the escalation was triggered.
By 7:00 AM, when the buyer opens their laptop, they don't discover a crisis. They review a proposed action and approve it with one click-or modify it based on context the AI couldn't know.
This is the difference: Automation waits for triggers. Agents hunt for risks.
What Is Sotro Copilot?
Sotro Copilot is the AI agent layer that transforms passive Purchase Orders into active, goal-pursuing entities. Each PO becomes an agent with a mission: get confirmation, track delivery, flag risks, and close the loop.
Core Capabilities
1. Predictive Risk Detection
Sotro Copilot doesn't wait for parts to be late. It analyzes patterns-communication latency, historical performance, regional disruptions-to predict delays before they happen. The Supplier Reliability Index (SRI) quantifies this risk in real-time.
2. Autonomous Action Execution
When risk is detected, the Copilot acts:
- Drafts follow-up and escalation emails
- Proposes ERP status updates
- Creates prioritized tasks for human review
- Schedules reminders for unresponsive suppliers
3. Natural Language Processing
Suppliers reply in unstructured email-partial confirmations, date changes, delay explanations. Sotro Copilot parses these responses, extracts the relevant data, and proposes ERP updates without manual data entry.
4. Synthesis and Reporting
The Copilot generates summary reports for managers:
- Which orders are at risk this week?
- Which suppliers have declining SRI scores?
- What actions were taken overnight?
These aren't static dashboards. They're synthesized briefings that surface what matters.
The Nightly Run
Every night, Sotro Copilot executes an autonomous review cycle:
| Time | Action |
|---|---|
| 2:00 AM | Scan all active POs against expected dates and SRI thresholds |
| 2:15 AM | Identify orders with communication gaps or risk indicators |
| 2:30 AM | Draft escalation emails for at-risk orders |
| 2:45 AM | Create prioritized task list for morning buyer review |
| 3:00 AM | Generate overnight summary report |
By the time your team arrives, the Copilot has already done the "chasing" work-and is waiting for approval to execute.
Why Does "Human-in-the-Loop" Matter?
The fear around AI in business is loss of control. A black box making decisions. Automated systems overriding human judgment.
Sotro Copilot is designed around a different principle: the AI proposes, the human approves.
The Copilot drafts escalation emails-but doesn't send them until approved. It proposes status changes-but waits for confirmation. It creates tasks-but the buyer decides priority.
This isn't a limitation. It's a feature.
| Concern | How Sotro Copilot Addresses It |
|---|---|
| "AI might send the wrong message" | All correspondence is drafted for review before sending |
| "I don't trust automated decisions" | Every action is logged with reasoning; nothing executes without approval |
| "What if the AI misreads a situation?" | Buyers can override, modify, or dismiss any proposed action |
| "I need to maintain supplier relationships" | Tone and timing remain under human control |
The Copilot is an employee that suggests, not a black box that overrides. It handles the 70% of work that's repetitive chasing, freeing buyers to focus on the 30% that requires judgment, negotiation, and relationship management.
How Is Agentic AI Different from RPA or Workflow Automation?
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and workflow tools are powerful-but they're fundamentally different from agentic AI:
| Dimension | RPA / Workflow Automation | Agentic AI (Sotro Copilot) |
|---|---|---|
| Logic | Rule-based: "If X, then Y" | Goal-based: "Achieve outcome Z" |
| Scope | Single task or process | End-to-end objective |
| Adaptation | Breaks when inputs change | Adjusts approach based on context |
| Proactivity | Reactive (waits for trigger) | Proactive (seeks risks and opportunities) |
| Learning | Static rules | Improves with pattern recognition |
RPA can copy data between systems. Workflow automation can route approvals. But neither can pursue a goal like "ensure on-time delivery for this order" across email, ERP, and supplier communication-adapting as conditions change.
What Does "From Hype to Habit" Mean for Procurement?
IFS predicts that 2026 is when AI stops being a pilot project and becomes operational infrastructure. For procurement, this means:
- AI agents become standard. Just as ERP systems became non-negotiable in the 1990s, AI agents will become expected tooling for supply chain management.
- The "chasing" workflow disappears. Junior buyers won't spend 70% of their time on manual follow-ups. That work will be handled by agents-with humans focusing on exceptions and strategy.
- Predictive becomes the baseline. Backward-looking metrics like OTIF will be supplemented (or replaced) by predictive indexes like the SRI. Knowing a supplier will be late is more valuable than knowing they were late.
- Invisible software wins. Tools that require supplier adoption (portals) will lose to tools that work within existing communication channels (email). Agentic AI enables this by processing unstructured data-natural language, attachments, varied formats-that portal-based systems cannot handle.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between automation and agentic AI?
Automation executes predefined rules when specific conditions are met-it's "doing the same thing faster." Agentic AI pursues goals autonomously, deciding what actions are necessary and adapting based on context. Automation waits for triggers; agents proactively hunt for risks and opportunities.
What is an AI agent in supply chain management?
An AI agent in supply chain is software that autonomously pursues objectives like "ensure on-time delivery" or "get supplier confirmation." Unlike traditional automation that follows scripts, an agent reasons about goals, monitors conditions, takes actions (like drafting emails), and adapts when circumstances change.
What is Sotro Copilot?
Sotro Copilot is the AI agent layer that transforms Purchase Orders into active, goal-pursuing entities. It scans for risks, drafts escalation emails, proposes ERP updates, and creates prioritized tasks-all autonomously. The Copilot runs nightly scans and presents proposed actions for human approval each morning.
Does Sotro Copilot send emails without human approval?
No. Sotro Copilot operates on a "human-in-the-loop" model. It drafts correspondence, proposes status changes, and creates tasks-but all actions require human approval before execution. The AI suggests; the human decides.
What is the Supplier Reliability Index (SRI)?
The Supplier Reliability Index is Sotro's predictive metric for vendor risk. It combines historical delivery patterns, communication responsiveness, regional disruption signals, and order-specific complexity to predict delays before they occur-unlike backward-looking metrics like OTIF that only measure past performance.
How is agentic AI different from RPA?
RPA (Robotic Process Automation) follows rule-based logic: "If X happens, do Y." It's reactive and breaks when inputs change. Agentic AI is goal-based: "Achieve outcome Z." It proactively seeks risks, adapts to new information, and pursues objectives across multiple systems and communication channels.
What does the Sotro Copilot "Nightly Run" do?
Every night, the Copilot scans all active POs, identifies orders with communication gaps or risk indicators, drafts escalation emails, creates prioritized task lists, and generates summary reports. By morning, buyers review and approve proposed actions rather than starting the chasing process from scratch.
Why does human-in-the-loop matter for AI in procurement?
Human-in-the-loop ensures buyers maintain control over supplier relationships, messaging tone, and strategic decisions. The AI handles repetitive chasing work (70% of buyer time), while humans focus on judgment calls, negotiations, and exceptions-without fear of automated systems overriding their decisions.
