Nathaniel Whittemore examines enterprise usage data showing a widening gap between typical firms and the heaviest AI users. Frontier firms moved from roughly twice the output tokens per active user to more than eight times the typical level as agentic work became a larger share of their activity.
Nathaniel Whittemore argues that the difference is not simply access to better models. Leading firms give agents context, tools and reusable instructions, then delegate work beyond drafting and search. Their employees use plugins and skills far more often, allowing agents to synthesize information, operate systems and maintain workflows over time.
The shift is spreading beyond software teams into finance, marketing, recruiting, sales and legal work. Nathaniel Whittemore describes a ladder from generation to synthesis, execution and maintenance, with people retaining judgment and accountability while agents handle coverage and coordination. He expects the next gains to come from team-level agents that can work across organizational boundaries rather than remaining in individual silos.
Watch on YouTube