GoKawiilKey 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.
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