Virtual Event Recap - Beyond the Hype: Exploring Agentic AI with WOMEN x AI Thought Leaders
- Jenny Kay Pollock
- Aug 19
- 4 min read
Updated: Aug 20
What We Covered: Moving Past the Agentic AI Buzz
As headlines increasingly tout the power of autonomous agents, WOMEN x AI hosted a virtual event to explore what Agentic AI actually means—and how women in tech are building, deploying, and questioning it. “Beyond the Hype: Agentic AI” brought together engineers, founders, product leaders, and newcomers to discuss the future of agents, how to balance autonomy with oversight, and what it means to build trust in this new era.
From breakout groups to tool talk and trust-building strategies, the event fostered both technical depth and community connection. The goal? To ensure women are not only participating in the Agentic AI conversation—but leading it.
Meet the Host: Ruby Vitatoe on Elevating Non-Traditional Voices
Moderator Ruby Vitatoe kicked off the discussion with a clear message: “Hype can be a double-edged sword. It can make Agentic AI feel unattainable—or like just another passing trend.” As a WOMEN x AI member who entered the space via a nontraditional path and learned to build her own agent through a Maven course, Ruby emphasized the importance of community learning and accessible education.
She framed the event around what truly matters: practical takeaways for those building AI agents today—and those just starting to explore the space.
Meet the Speakers
We had a great line up of community members leading the conversation on Agentic AI.
Expert Panelists:
🎤 Moderator: Ruby Vitatoe - Founder VitaVerse Strategies
🎤 Alison McCauley, Think with AI is a human centered movement to boost creativity and cognitive performance
🎤 Annie Xu, Data and AI @ Google, Speaker, Tech Coach
🎤 Meg McWilliams, Founder and COO of Gossip Goblin
🎤 Jasmeen Bal, Product Leader, ChargePoint
Additional Speakers:
🎤 Imen Clark, Founder and CEO of Prickly Pear will welcome us with a celebration of Women's Day in Tunisia
Defining Agentic AI: From Buzzword to Blueprint
The session began by level-setting with a working definition of Agentic AI. Panelists emphasized that agents are not just advanced chatbots—they’re autonomous systems capable of executing multi-step tasks across platforms with minimal human intervention.
“I love the framing that agents are like junior engineers or interns—but with tools,” said Annie Xu, Customer Engineer at Google. “With the right frameworks, they can operate toward goals independently.”
“We need to remember that Agentic AI is not a single product—it’s a continuum,” added Alison McCauley, author and tech strategist.
Trust, Tools, and Human Oversight
As Agentic AI gains traction, so does the urgency of building responsible systems. The panelists emphasized the role of human oversight, feedback loops, and clear governance frameworks.
“Companies are now being held accountable for their agents’ behavior. We’re past the point where trust is optional.” noted Jasmeen Bal, a product manager at ChargePoint.
“Boards and management teams can’t walk—they need to sprint toward understanding governance and risk,” warned Alison McCauley. “There’s no playbook yet. You have to write your own.”
Meg McWilliams, co-founder of Gossip Goblin, shared how her company embeds safety protocols in real-time matchmaking agents:
“Our agent Gobby has to make decisions instantly—searching multiple databases and adapting to all kinds of user behavior. If we can’t trust the results, we lose the user.” - Meg McWilliams
When Tools Matter—and When They Don’t
Participants also got tactical, sharing the tools they’re using to build agents. For those new to development, Ruby recommended starting with Sara Davison's Maven course on Agentic AI that helped her go from curious to confident.
Other popular options mentioned:
Cassidy AI – a platform used during the Maven course
Flowise – an open-source visual builder for agentic workflows
Zapier + GPT integrations – for custom workflows without code
Still, Alison reminded the audience to flip the script: “Don’t start with the tech. Start with the problem."
Use whiteboards. Use post-its. Talk to your users. Then figure out what tool or framework solves it.
From Tunisia to Tech: Building for Women, Globally
One highlight was Imen Maaroufi Clark, founder of Prickly Pear Health, who reminded the audience of the global and gendered dimensions of AI innovation.
“We’re building a voice-first AI to support women’s brain health—because the data shows we need it,” she shared. The event happened to fall on Tunisia’s National Women’s Day, a poignant reminder of the global nature of this work.
Breakout Highlights: Networking, Tools & Trust
Participants dove into intimate breakout sessions where themes included:
How to trust your agent enough to delegate meaningful work
The need for better onboarding for non-technical users
Real-life use cases in customer service, healthcare, and networking
The power of feedback loops and testing (“You wouldn’t launch a bad hire—don’t launch a bad agent!” said one attendee.)
In Closing: Women Leading the Agentic AI Era
The panel closed with a unifying message: Agentic AI isn’t just about code or hype—it’s about humans. And women are leading the charge. Whether you’re building agents, designing user experiences, or just learning the lingo, there’s a place for you in this next chapter of AI.
Want to keep the conversation going? Join our WOMEN x AI Membership (it's free!).
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