Therapists are only beginning to discuss chatbots, while AI agents are already here.

Unlike chatbots, AI agents can act, remember, monitor, and accomplish things.

AI is improving at a speed that human therapists simply cannot match.

It’s time to consider where AI is going, not just where it is today.

Even in the last ten years, the world has changed so much. I think about my own field of psychology, and that is no exception. Ten years ago, my work consisted of me and my client in a room. My competition was other therapists. Today, it is very different. My client is often on her computer and I am on mine. And my competition increasingly includes intelligent algorithms that are available around the clock, often free of charge. In spite of their understandably poor reputation among therapists, I have nonetheless experienced their intelligence as worthy competition. But that's just today.

Ten years from now, it is difficult to fathom what the world of therapy will look like. Even five years from now, we are expected to see another major disruption: AI agents. Agents will bring in a whole new level of competition, making today's chatbots look almost old-fashioned. None of us can see the future. But agents are expected to become part of our landscape within the next several years.

My first experience with an AI agent absolutely blew my mind. I was upgrading my website. It had been a few years; much of the information was outdated, and the project felt tedious and time-consuming — even with the help of a chatbot to write copy. Website renovation had always meant........

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