Science & Tech · AI · 1 hr ago
Databricks unveils an always-on AI agent for business tasks
Databricks has upgraded its Genie AI agent to handle extended, multi-step tasks for businesses.
The San Francisco company says Genie can work unsupervised, using an “ontology” that gives it context from information stored on Databricks’ platform.
CEO Ali Ghodsi showed how he uses it to review employee survey results, assess proposed fixes and summarize a sales pitch that went badly.
The agent can bring difficult feedback to senior leaders who may not hear it directly as their companies grow.
Ghodsi says he uses Genie to prepare for interviews and meetings, and the company is pitching it as an always-on assistant for business leaders.
Databricks’ launch comes amid a wider push to sell AI tools to office workers, including productivity tools Anthropic introduced the day before.
It remains unclear how widely businesses will adopt these tools, since their financial benefits outside software development are not yet as clear-cut.
Databricks unveiled an updated version of its Genie AI agent, designed to handle extended, multi-step business tasks without supervision.
The agent can work in the background, analyze company data and make suggestions, according to Databricks.
A separate Ontology feature provides Genie with context from information stored on the Databricks platform.
CEO Ali Ghodsi demonstrated how he uses Genie to review employee survey results, sales discussions and interview preparations.
The launch came a day after Anthropic introduced its own AI productivity tools for corporate users.
- Who
- Databricks, a San Francisco startup, unveiled the updated Genie AI agent. CEO Ali Ghodsi demonstrated how he uses it.
- What
- Genie can perform multi-step business tasks using information stored on Databricks. The company says it can complete assigned tasks unsupervised.
- When
- Wednesday, November 11, 2026.
- Where
- Not stated.
- Why
- Databricks says the agent can help business leaders and workers analyze company information and carry out tasks.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Anthropic released AI productivity tools aimed at corporate users, according to Fortune.
Databricks unveiled an updated version of its Genie AI agent.
Ghodsi demonstrated Genie reviewing an employee satisfaction survey, a sales pitch and preparation for a podcast interview.
- Product
- Updated Genie AI agent
- Company
- Databricks
- CEO
- Ali Ghodsi
- Platform context feature
- Ontology
- Employee count mentioned
- 12,000 employees
3 sources
What people are saying
The agents are running in the background all the time. So it’s always on
I personally use it every day. Every hour of the day. It’s basically made me a 10x better CEO than I was a year ago
Anyone who has more than 150 employees, which is a lot of companies, a lot of people can get value out of this