We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience.
This includes personalizing content and advertising.
By pressing "Accept All" or closing out of this banner, you consent to the use of all cookies and similar technologies and the sharing of information they collect with third parties.
You can reject marketing cookies by pressing "Deny Optional," but we still use essential, performance, and functional cookies.
In addition, whether you "Accept All," Deny Optional," click the X or otherwise continue to use the site, you accept our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service, revised from time to time.
You are being directed to ZacksTrade, a division of LBMZ Securities and licensed broker-dealer. ZacksTrade and Zacks.com are separate companies. The web link between the two companies is not a solicitation or offer to invest in a particular security or type of security. ZacksTrade does not endorse or adopt any particular investment strategy, any analyst opinion/rating/report or any approach to evaluating individual securities.
If you wish to go to ZacksTrade, click OK. If you do not, click Cancel.
Propense.ai's Hatfield: Agentic AI for Professionals
Key Takeaways
The AI revolution is entering the next wave.
AI is shifting from passive chatbots to agentic AI.
Propense.ai's latest product has created an autonomous AI partner for client relationships.
The AI Buildout is Unprecedented
For the better part of the 2000s, Wall Street analysts and investors have complained that big tech companies have not been aggressive enough in deploying capital to grow their businesses, instead opting to hoard cash and conduct massive stock buybacks. However, the artificial intelligence boom has completely shifted the mindset of America’s tech CEOs. The debut of OpenAI’s ‘Chat GPT’ not only proved that AI was a transformative technology but also that there was real demand for it in the marketplace. In an effort not be disrupted and to capitalize on the new technology, big tech companies have been spending in droves. In fact, in 2025 ‘hyperscalers’ such as Microsoft ((MSFT - Free Report) ),Meta Platforms ((META - Free Report) ), Alphabet ((GOOGL - Free Report) ), and Amazon (AMZN) spent a whopping $357 billion on NVIDIA ((NVDA - Free Report) ) chips and large-scale AI data centers to train their AI models.
Despite fears of overspending, these tech giants forecast they will spend even more on CAPEX in 2026. Just how big is the spending? According to Ryan Detrick of Carson Research, AI-related spending will balloon to more than 2% of GDP in 2026, overtaking the massive spending in the 1850s on the railroad buildout.
2026: Agentic AI (From Chat to Action)
Thus far in the AI boom, investors have been hyper-focused on chatbots and large language models (LLMs) like ‘Gemini’ and ‘ChatGPT.’ Chatbots are a focus because they are client-facing, easy-to-understand, and powered by America’s most prominent companies. While chatbots continue to see revenue growth, gains in popularity, and technological improvements, tech investors need to be aware of other disruptive technologies in the AI industry. According to IBM (IBM), ‘agentic AI’ is an artificial intelligence system that can accomplish a specific goal with limited supervision. It consists of AI agents-machine learning models that mimic human decision-making to solve problems in real time.
ClawdBot: Agentic AI’s ‘ChatGPT’ Moment
Agentic AI just had its ‘ChatGPT Moment.’ ClawdBot (now known as OpenClaw) launched in January 2026. The self-hosted AI agent can execute tasks directly from messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Telegram, and Slack. Unlike traditional LLMs that merely generate text responses, OpenClaw can read and write files, browse the web, and interact with other applications, all while running 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Why should investors care? In 1994, Jeff Bezos decided to start Amazon ((AMZN - Free Report) ) after reading that web usage was growing at a mind-boggling 2,300% per year. The rest is history. Similarly, OpenClaw has exploded in popularity, gaining a mind-boggling 20,7000 GitHub stars in a single day. Meanwhile, AI agent integration searches exploded from just 110 to more than 12,000 in a single month.
Image Source: Google Trends
Agentic AI: Slowly, then All at Once
While it is unclear just how disruptive agentic AI will be, the price action and news over the past few weeks are telling. The iShares Software ETF ((IGV - Free Report) ) just witnessed its worst drawdown in history (worse than the dot-com bust).
Image Source: The Strazza Letter
In just the past few weeks:
· Monday.com ((MNDY - Free Report) ) plunged more than 20% amid weak guidance and rising concerns that AI will disrupt its project management software business model.
· Databricks, a private, San Francisco-based tech company, raised $7 billion to build its AI agent database amid “overwhelming investor interest.”
· Google introduced ‘PaperBanana’, its agentic framework that automates publication-ready methodology diagrams and statistical plots.
If AI loosely mirrors the internet boom of the late 1990s (which I believe it will), investors may find the next multi-baggers and growth engines through little-known companies. Agentic AI opens the AI industry to many more verticals and will allow companies to become far more productive and efficient. Additionally, the technology has the potential to even the playing field, allowing innovative, smaller companies to thrive and gain their share of the AI boom.
Why Public Investors Should Study Private Markets
Although private investments are not possible for the lion’s share of retail investors, I always encourage investors to study private companies – especially in the tech arena. By studying private companies, public market investors can gain a significant competitive edge by observing early insights into industry trends, technological disruption, and competitive threats that are not yet reflected in stock prices.
Propense.ai: An AI-powered SaaS Platform for Professional Service Firms
In the rapidly moving AI and technology industry, there are the quick and there are the dead. Monday.com’s stock plunge underscores the importance of adapting and evolving to new technology. Propense.ai is doing exactly that. The company started as a ‘core AI’ company but is transitioning to an agentic one. The key difference between ‘core AI’ and ‘agentic AI’ is that core AI involves passive content generation and analysis, while agentic AI acts as an autonomous entity that can plan, act, and achieve complex, multi-step goals with little or no human supervision.
While many AI companies seek to be generalists, Propense.ai continues to be laser-focused on its core competency – helping busy accounting and legal professionals gain more business with fewer headaches. Traditionally, accounting and legal professionals are forced to juggle serving clients and growing their practice.
In the past, accountants and legal professionals would need to work insane hours or bring on new employees to serve both their core business and client management. However, Hatfield is designed to make life easier for these busy professionals, with capabilities like:
24/7 Client Monitoring: Tracks critical client signals, social media, external events, and regulatory or market changes in real time. Hatfield can autonomously wish your client a Happy Birthday or send an important regulatory update notification to you.
Built to Serve You: Customized to support your individual needs and working style. Do you want notices, daily, weekly, or any other interval? Tailor it for the busy season and the selling season. You decide.
Proactive Alerts: Flags urgent needs, relationship risks, and opportunities the moment they matter.
White-Glove at Scale: Helps you deliver personalized, high-touch service to every client—automatically.
Reputation Protection: Never miss important factors that clients expect you to notice.
Image Source: Propense.ai
Image Source: Propense.ai
Image Source: Propense.ai
Currently Hatfield is only available to Propense clients, its impact on the legal and accounting marketplace should be monitored.
Bottom Line
While the ‘hyperscalers focus on building the massive infrastructure of the future, companies like Propense.ai are demonstrating how the power of AI is harnessed to solve real-world problems. By evolving from a predictive platform to an agentic powerhouse with Hatfield, they aren’t just giving professionals a new tool; they are giving them a tireless, autonomous partner. For investors and industry watchers, the message is clear: the AI boom is moving past the “chat” phase and into the era of action. In a world where you are either the disruptor or the disrupted, Propense.ai’s move toward agentic AI positions them-and their clients-to be the ones leading the charge.
See More Zacks Research for These Tickers
Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:
View the Zacks #1 Rank List
Image: Bigstock
Propense.ai's Hatfield: Agentic AI for Professionals
Key Takeaways
The AI Buildout is Unprecedented
For the better part of the 2000s, Wall Street analysts and investors have complained that big tech companies have not been aggressive enough in deploying capital to grow their businesses, instead opting to hoard cash and conduct massive stock buybacks. However, the artificial intelligence boom has completely shifted the mindset of America’s tech CEOs. The debut of OpenAI’s ‘Chat GPT’ not only proved that AI was a transformative technology but also that there was real demand for it in the marketplace. In an effort not be disrupted and to capitalize on the new technology, big tech companies have been spending in droves. In fact, in 2025 ‘hyperscalers’ such as Microsoft ((MSFT - Free Report) ), Meta Platforms ((META - Free Report) ), Alphabet ((GOOGL - Free Report) ), and Amazon (AMZN) spent a whopping $357 billion on NVIDIA ((NVDA - Free Report) ) chips and large-scale AI data centers to train their AI models.
Image Source: Carson Investment Research, @sonusvarghese
Despite fears of overspending, these tech giants forecast they will spend even more on CAPEX in 2026. Just how big is the spending? According to Ryan Detrick of Carson Research, AI-related spending will balloon to more than 2% of GDP in 2026, overtaking the massive spending in the 1850s on the railroad buildout.
2026: Agentic AI (From Chat to Action)
Thus far in the AI boom, investors have been hyper-focused on chatbots and large language models (LLMs) like ‘Gemini’ and ‘ChatGPT.’ Chatbots are a focus because they are client-facing, easy-to-understand, and powered by America’s most prominent companies. While chatbots continue to see revenue growth, gains in popularity, and technological improvements, tech investors need to be aware of other disruptive technologies in the AI industry. According to IBM (IBM), ‘agentic AI’ is an artificial intelligence system that can accomplish a specific goal with limited supervision. It consists of AI agents-machine learning models that mimic human decision-making to solve problems in real time.
ClawdBot: Agentic AI’s ‘ChatGPT’ Moment
Agentic AI just had its ‘ChatGPT Moment.’ ClawdBot (now known as OpenClaw) launched in January 2026. The self-hosted AI agent can execute tasks directly from messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Telegram, and Slack. Unlike traditional LLMs that merely generate text responses, OpenClaw can read and write files, browse the web, and interact with other applications, all while running 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Why should investors care? In 1994, Jeff Bezos decided to start Amazon ((AMZN - Free Report) ) after reading that web usage was growing at a mind-boggling 2,300% per year. The rest is history. Similarly, OpenClaw has exploded in popularity, gaining a mind-boggling 20,7000 GitHub stars in a single day. Meanwhile, AI agent integration searches exploded from just 110 to more than 12,000 in a single month.
Image Source: Google Trends
Agentic AI: Slowly, then All at Once
While it is unclear just how disruptive agentic AI will be, the price action and news over the past few weeks are telling. The iShares Software ETF ((IGV - Free Report) ) just witnessed its worst drawdown in history (worse than the dot-com bust).
Image Source: The Strazza Letter
In just the past few weeks:
· Monday.com ((MNDY - Free Report) ) plunged more than 20% amid weak guidance and rising concerns that AI will disrupt its project management software business model.
· Databricks, a private, San Francisco-based tech company, raised $7 billion to build its AI agent database amid “overwhelming investor interest.”
· Google introduced ‘PaperBanana’, its agentic framework that automates publication-ready methodology diagrams and statistical plots.
If AI loosely mirrors the internet boom of the late 1990s (which I believe it will), investors may find the next multi-baggers and growth engines through little-known companies. Agentic AI opens the AI industry to many more verticals and will allow companies to become far more productive and efficient. Additionally, the technology has the potential to even the playing field, allowing innovative, smaller companies to thrive and gain their share of the AI boom.
Why Public Investors Should Study Private Markets
Although private investments are not possible for the lion’s share of retail investors, I always encourage investors to study private companies – especially in the tech arena. By studying private companies, public market investors can gain a significant competitive edge by observing early insights into industry trends, technological disruption, and competitive threats that are not yet reflected in stock prices.
Propense.ai: An AI-powered SaaS Platform for Professional Service Firms
Long-time readers of my work may recall that I’ve written about Miami-based Propense.ai in the past. Two years ago, I first wrote about how Propense.ai was an AI start-up worth watching. The company combines AI technology with data science, user psychology, human behavior, and industry insights to anticipate client needs. In other words, Propense.ai streamlines the sales experience for accounting and legal professionals by providing them with highly probable cross-selling recommendations for existing customers, making it the first platform of its kind to maximize revenue opportunities for professional service firms. Later in 2024, I covered how Propense.ai secured a $3 million investment from Thomson Reuters Ventures to continue leveraging AI and drive B2B sales for its customers.
Finally, in June, I covered the company’s continued momentum in the law industry after it signed three AM Law 200 firms with a combined 2,000 attorneys to its beta program to develop a data-backed solution promoting collaboration across siloed practice groups (AM Law 200 firms represent the top 200 US-based law firms by revenue). At the time, Propense.ai built on its early success in the accounting sector, where the company served ~15% of the total Institute of Public Accountants (IPA) firms.
Propense.ai: From Core AI to Agentic AI
In the rapidly moving AI and technology industry, there are the quick and there are the dead. Monday.com’s stock plunge underscores the importance of adapting and evolving to new technology. Propense.ai is doing exactly that. The company started as a ‘core AI’ company but is transitioning to an agentic one. The key difference between ‘core AI’ and ‘agentic AI’ is that core AI involves passive content generation and analysis, while agentic AI acts as an autonomous entity that can plan, act, and achieve complex, multi-step goals with little or no human supervision.
Propense.ai Introduces ‘Hatfield’
While many AI companies seek to be generalists, Propense.ai continues to be laser-focused on its core competency – helping busy accounting and legal professionals gain more business with fewer headaches. Traditionally, accounting and legal professionals are forced to juggle serving clients and growing their practice.
Imagine a CPA in the middle of tax season. It’s probably difficult to think of a more hectic, high-stakes, and time-consuming time for a professional in any industry. These professionals not only must handle tax filings but also painstakingly maintain staffing, client relationships, and market to new clients. Understanding these difficulties, Propense.ai is launching ‘Hatfield’, “the always-on AI client service partner built specifically for accounting and legal professionals who want to deliver consistently exceptional client experiences without adding more to their plates.”
What Does Hatfield Accomplish?
In the past, accountants and legal professionals would need to work insane hours or bring on new employees to serve both their core business and client management. However, Hatfield is designed to make life easier for these busy professionals, with capabilities like:
Image Source: Propense.ai
Image Source: Propense.ai
Image Source: Propense.ai
Currently Hatfield is only available to Propense clients, its impact on the legal and accounting marketplace should be monitored.
Bottom Line
While the ‘hyperscalers focus on building the massive infrastructure of the future, companies like Propense.ai are demonstrating how the power of AI is harnessed to solve real-world problems. By evolving from a predictive platform to an agentic powerhouse with Hatfield, they aren’t just giving professionals a new tool; they are giving them a tireless, autonomous partner. For investors and industry watchers, the message is clear: the AI boom is moving past the “chat” phase and into the era of action. In a world where you are either the disruptor or the disrupted, Propense.ai’s move toward agentic AI positions them-and their clients-to be the ones leading the charge.