Key Takeaways
- Small business owners are increasingly using AI agents, or software that acts autonomously to perform tasks and make decisions, to do work for them.
- One example is Scott Bell, a bankruptcy lawyer who uses AI agents to manage client intake, respond to routine inquiries and organize financial documentation.
- Platforms like OpenClaw allow users to assign high-level goals, which AI agents then break into tasks and execute across business functions.
Small business owners are beginning to manage a new kind of workforce.
These workers do not sit in offices or log into Slack. They are instead AI agents, or AI systems capable of handling complex tasks on their own. For some entrepreneurs, AI agents are already handling critical operations like finances, customer service and email communications with minimal supervision, The New York Times reported earlier this week.
Scott Bell, a bankruptcy lawyer, offers one of the clearest examples of how this shift is unfolding in practice. Bell told the Times that he initially approached AI tools skeptically, seeing them as useful assistants rather than decision-makers.
That changed when he began experimenting with AI agents that could act autonomously across multiple tasks. Instead of simply drafting documents or summarizing emails, these agents were capable of executing workflows end-to-end.
“With bankruptcy, a lot of the work is forms-based,” Bell said in an interview with the Times. “What I do is not super complicated.”
Bell told the Times that he used AI agents to manage client intake, respond to routine inquiries and organize financial documentation. Over time, he allowed the system to take on increasingly complex responsibilities. The agents began assessing the urgency of emails, flagging urgent legal issues and even preparing preliminary case summaries. In some instances, they communicated directly with clients, asking follow-up questions and gathering necessary details without Bell’s immediate involvement.
The experience was both efficient and unsettling. Bell described moments where the system operated faster than he could track, completing hours of administrative work in minutes.
While this improved productivity, it also forced Bell to reconsider his role. Instead of performing tasks, he was supervising outcomes, reviewing decisions made by systems he did not fully control.
OpenClaw drives the shift to AI agents
At the center of this shift is a platform called OpenClaw, which Bell uses. OpenClaw allows users to orchestrate multiple AI agents that can collaborate across business functions. Unlike traditional software, which relies on predefined inputs and outputs, OpenClaw allows users to assign goals rather than instructions. The system then breaks those goals into tasks and distributes them among specialized agents, per the Times.
Entrepreneurs are using OpenClaw in a variety of functions, according to Linux Journal. Some rely on it for customer support, where agents handle inquiries, process refunds and escalate complex cases. Others use it for marketing, with agents drafting campaigns and scheduling posts.
The rise of AI agents introduces new challenges, according to the Times report. Business owners must think about oversight differently. Instead of checking individual tasks, they are monitoring systems that generate and execute their own plans. Errors can propagate quickly if not caught early on.
For Bell, the benefits have so far outweighed the risks. He is convinced that AI will infiltrate every aspect of corporate work.
“Of course, that’s going to put me out of a job, as well, at some point,” he told the Times. “AI will, probably sooner than later, be able to do what I do, for a lot cheaper than I can, and quicker.”
Key Takeaways
- Small business owners are increasingly using AI agents, or software that acts autonomously to perform tasks and make decisions, to do work for them.
- One example is Scott Bell, a bankruptcy lawyer who uses AI agents to manage client intake, respond to routine inquiries and organize financial documentation.
- Platforms like OpenClaw allow users to assign high-level goals, which AI agents then break into tasks and execute across business functions.
Small business owners are beginning to manage a new kind of workforce.
These workers do not sit in offices or log into Slack. They are instead AI agents, or AI systems capable of handling complex tasks on their own. For some entrepreneurs, AI agents are already handling critical operations like finances, customer service and email communications with minimal supervision, The New York Times reported earlier this week.
Scott Bell, a bankruptcy lawyer, offers one of the clearest examples of how this shift is unfolding in practice. Bell told the Times that he initially approached AI tools skeptically, seeing them as useful assistants rather than decision-makers.
