[Edaily Reporter Yun Junghoon ] At 2 a.m., a digital ad campaign went live. While a human would have already clocked out and gone to sleep by this hour, the AI agent reviews the ad’s performance without showing any signs of fatigue. It checks click-through rates and conversion rates in real time and automatically organizes data showing positive responses. This is how the AI completes the groundwork before marketers arrive at work the next day to review the data line by line. It appears that AI, which used to merely answer questions, is now evolving into a “digital colleague” that takes proactive action.

Song Hoon-hwan, head of SK Telecom’s AI Marketing Team, described these changes in the internal work environment brought about by AI agents at the “E-Marketing Insight Summit 2026,” held on the 15th at the FKI Tower in Yeouido, Seoul.

“Assign Employee Numbers to AI Staff”… Plans Underway to Deploy ‘T-Marketer’ and ‘NPR’ Within Organizations

The key difference between AI agents and existing generative AI is their “execution capability.” While generative AI merely organizes data when instructed to “analyze ad performance,” AI agents—depending on their permissions—directly extract data, categorize high- and low-performing items, and even generate reports. They handle tasks proactively without requiring constant human direction.

Starting in March of this year, SKT began building its internal system, “AXMS,” and has been actively developing and deploying AI agents across each business division. SKT is even pursuing a plan to go beyond simple programs by assigning actual “employee ID numbers” to these agents.

Once assigned employee numbers, AI employees with names such as “NPR,” “T-Legal,” and “T-Marketer” will be officially assigned to the organization with formal job titles and work authority. Employees will exchange emails with them and collaborate just as they would with real colleagues. The structure is such that AI in the marketing organization handles data analysis and performance monitoring, while AI in the legal organization is responsible for analyzing case law and legal materials.

Team Leader Song explained, “For example, an AI agent could fulfill the role of the youngest member of the organization or that of a senior member.” He added, “If AI takes over the simple monitoring and data collection tasks previously handled by junior marketers, senior marketers can receive the necessary data immediately and focus on high-level decision-making.”

Only 8% of Korean Companies Have Fully Adopted ‘Agentic AI’… SKT Takes the Lead in Structural Reform

SKT’s move is considered relatively swift even within the domestic industry.

According to the “2026 Korea AI Potential” report published by Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Strand Partners, only 37% of 1,000 domestic corporate leaders surveyed had heard of autonomous “agent-based AI.” In reality, only 8% of companies had fully implemented and were actively using it, while 29% remained in the pilot phase.

The benefits of adoption were clear. Fifty-four percent of companies using agentic AI reported that “decision-making and execution speeds have increased,” while 51% stated that “productivity and operational efficiency have improved.”

The proportion of companies using the most advanced AI also rose to 26%, more than doubling from 11% a year ago. However, only 24% of companies reported that they were fully prepared to adopt next-generation AI, indicating a gap between interest and actual readiness.

Last June, SKT CEO Jeong Jae-heon announced “AX Innovation 2.0,” stating, “By making AX (AI Transformation) a part of daily life, our employees’ time and capabilities will be transformed into a growth engine that drives new challenges,” and pledged to actively support the strengthening of the company’s AI capabilities. In line with this, the company is encouraging internal AX innovation to implement a “one agent per employee” system.

Some have expressed concerns that the evolution of AI could diminish the role of humans.

Team Leader Song acknowledged, “It’s true that there’s a sense of crisis—‘What if AI takes our jobs?’”—but added, “Ultimately, AI cannot replace all human work; the current role of AI agents is to relieve people of repetitive tasks and help them focus on their inherently creative work.”