Kantata Launches Agent Studio to Let Services Firms Build Custom AI Agents Without Code

Kantata Inc., a professional services automation platform, has introduced Agent Studio, enabling services organizations to construct bespoke artificial intelligence agents by articulating their requirements in conversational language rather than code.

The vendor identifies a growing challenge within the professional services automation sector: technology providers are releasing numerous narrow-purpose agents, each designed for a specific function like resource allocation or risk assessment. Kantata contends that this proliferation creates operational complexity, as teams must manage and maintain separate tools. The company positions its Expertise Agent—launched in June and marketed as the first AI superagent for professional services—as a unified solution that preserves context across the entire platform.

Agent Studio operates within the Kantata Expertise Engine through an interactive dialogue. Users describe their requirements, and the Expertise Agent constructs and refines the new agent through the same conversational process, with each iteration validated for properly formatted inputs and outputs before deployment. The tool requires no form completion or programming knowledge. Once activated, agents can be initiated manually or automatically triggered by workflow rules.

The platform targets practice leads and delivery directors. Agent Studio enables teams to document a standard once—specifying format requirements, escalation procedures and expected outputs for recurring deliverables—then apply it consistently rather than having different staff members recreate the process each time. Kantata describes this repetitive reformatting cycle as a "prompt tax," the overhead of repeatedly explaining identical tasks to AI systems.

Chief Executive Michael Speranza stated: "When it comes to professional services, AI isn't the differentiator — expertise is. Any vendor can give a firm a tool to build AI agents. But if all you're doing is automating processes, you're just racing to the bottom and simply reducing costs, rather than developing differentiation."

Chief Technology Officer Vikas Nehru framed the governance perspective differently, noting that an agent capable of improvisation "a liability in a business where the same deliverable has to hold up in front of a client every time."

Basware Oyj, a Finnish invoice automation firm, currently uses Kantata's platform within its own professional services operations. Mark Johnston, Basware's chief customer officer, expressed interest in redirecting his services team away from "doing documentation, figuring out resourcing and entering their billable time," noting that Kantata enables the organization to develop agents that handle such administrative work.

Forrester Research Inc. supports this strategic direction. Ted Schadler, a vice president and principal analyst at the firm, has argued that sustainable competitive advantage now depends on integrating a company's proprietary knowledge and expertise into AI models, applications and agents.

Agent Studio is available immediately and already deployed with customers. Kantata itself was established in 2022 following the December 2021 merger of Mavenlink and Kimble Applications, a transaction led by Accel-KKR. The company reports that over 1,500 organizations currently operate its software.