The API layer is getting replaced by the agent layer!
If you look at how web apps are built today, they basically have a front end, a backend, and a couple of APIs (Application Programming Interface) in between.
The API layer governs everything - processes all the inputs, triggers the right workflows, and updates the correct records in the backend. But APIs are difficult for non-developers to use because it was hard to understand (I hear developers chuckle. I'm talking from personal experience) how to integrate them with a web page or backend.
Despite lots of documentation and free APIs, people without coding knowledge are unable to use them. The only alternative was to spend a bomb on platforms like Bubble, Zapier, or Make.
But with the evolution of AI and AI agents, the API layer is slowly being replaced by an agent layer.
Today, you can build a web page, add an agent to it and simply say:
"Look for these areas, research these topics. And when you get the output, update these relevant fields."
An agent will contextually understand your command and update the relevant fields or areas in your website.
This is really powerful because in the future, I think agents will perform the function of most APIs instead of traditional APIs. Maybe we'll call them "Programmable Agentic Interfaces" or PAI.
If you want to connect an agent, all you'll do is plug it directly to your front end and backend, give written instructions on the actions you want it to perform, and it will start doing it. Building ideas and taking them to market is going to get much easier.