AppliedAI and McKinsey package agentic workflows for regulated back offices

What changed: AppliedAI and McKinsey announced a collaboration around Opus, AppliedAI’s Agentic Process Execution platform, to build governed, auditable agent workflows for regulated industries. The companies said an early vendor-onboarding deployment at a European chemicals manufacturer cut manual processing effort by more than 99% and reduced active processing time from about two weeks to under five minutes.

Why it matters: For operators, this is a concrete signal that agent projects are moving from chat assistants to process redesign in procurement, compliance, onboarding, and other back-office work. The useful takeaway is not the partnership itself; it is the pattern: pick a high-friction workflow, connect the systems of record, add auditability, and measure cycle time.

Try/watch: If you are in a regulated business, shortlist one workflow with clear inputs, approvals, and handoffs. Also note the disclosure that McKinsey has a financial interest linked to AppliedAI’s performance.

Google brings its Agent Development Kit to Kotlin and Android

What changed: Google released ADK for Kotlin and ADK for Android 0.1.0, extending its open-source Agent Development Kit to backend Kotlin projects and Android apps. The release includes support for multi-agent systems, function tools, long-running tools, MCP tools, agent-to-agent communication, session state, long-term memory, and telemetry.

Why it matters: This gives Android and Kotlin teams a more direct path to build agents into apps without forcing every workflow through a cloud-only chatbot. The Android angle is especially useful for privacy-sensitive or low-latency experiences where some reasoning or tool use should happen on the device.

Try/watch: Prototype one narrow in-app agent, such as form completion, account setup, or field-service guidance. Keep the first version small and measure battery use, latency, permissions, and failure recovery.

GitHub open-sources Copilot for Eclipse, including agent workflows

What changed: GitHub made the Copilot for Eclipse plugin open source under the MIT license. The codebase exposes how Copilot handles chat, code completions, context, agent mode, skills, prompt files, bring-your-own-key support, custom agents, isolated subagents, planning, and MCP integration.

Why it matters: Builders get a rare look inside a production AI coding assistant inside a mature development environment. Even if you do not use Eclipse, the implementation can help teams understand how agentic coding tools manage context, prompts, permissions, and multi-step work.

Try/watch: Review the repository before building your own internal coding assistant. Look specifically at how it wires agent mode, context handling, and user controls, then copy the design ideas that reduce surprise actions.

Workday extends Sana agents into IT service and business travel

What changed: Workday introduced Sana for IT Service Management and Sana Travel Agent. Sana for ITSM is designed to automate employee onboarding, offboarding, access changes, password resets, software installs, and routing of more complex IT requests; the Travel Agent combines planning, booking, approvals, and expense creation in one conversational flow.

Why it matters: Workday is using the HR and finance data it already holds to automate work that usually jumps across ticketing, travel, expense, and approval tools. For buyers, this is a reminder that the best business agents may come from systems that already know roles, policies, budgets, and approval chains.

Try/watch: If you use Workday, map your highest-volume employee service requests now. Sana for ITSM is expected for early adopters in the second half of 2026, while Travel Agent is already available to early adopters.