Vercel's Andrew Qu on why agents are a new kind of software

Vercel is shifting its focus from traditional web development to the creation of autonomous agents. Chief of Software Andrew Qu explains that agents represent a new form of software because they require dynamic interaction, long-running processes, and specialized primitives for context and tool usage. To support this transition, Vercel developed a framework called eve, which provides developers with the necessary tools to build, test, and deploy agents more efficiently.

The development of eve was driven by the practical challenges Vercel encountered while building its own internal agents, such as the need for resumable tasks and reliable model fallbacks. A key component of this ecosystem is the use of skills, which act as portable, on-demand knowledge bases. These skills allow agents to bypass outdated information often found in large language models, ensuring they provide accurate, up-to-date guidance based on current company standards.

Vercel is also adapting its infrastructure to accommodate an internet increasingly navigated by bots rather than humans. The company now serves machine-readable formats like Markdown directly to agents, recognizing that the future of the web requires content to be as accessible to software as it is to people. Ultimately, Vercel aims to integrate agent capabilities into its entire platform, transforming the service itself into an agent that can perform tasks on behalf of its users.