AI agents are upending the company org chart

Company org charts are flattening as a result of AI.

Getty Images; Tyler Le/BI

• AI is coming for the middle managers — again.
• As companies explore the use of AI agents, consulting firms are exploring how agents are managed.
• IBM's senior VP said human managers won't manage agents "in the same way as we manage people."

Every few years, corporate executives call for a "Great Flattening," arguing that their organizations have grown sluggish from the weight of over management, duplicate roles, and bureaucracy.