Artificial intelligence is not just changing the way businesses work—it is changing when they work. With AI agents now capable of operating at all hours, a new model of productivity is emerging: the always-on economy. This concept describes an economic system where AI allows companies to function continuously, beyond the limits of human schedules. From finance to customer service, and from marketing to logistics, artificial intelligence is making 24/7 business not just possible but increasingly necessary.
Breaking Free from the Limits of the Workday
Human workers need sleep, breaks, and time away from their jobs. They call in sick, go on vacations, and live lives outside the workplace. AI agents do none of that. As Konstantine Buhler, a partner at Sequoia Capital, explained, “AI is reshaping the economy by providing automation that transcends traditional time and capacity constraints, enabling businesses to operate seamlessly around the clock.”
Buhler formed his investment thesis around this idea while working on Sequoia’s $1.15 billion investment in Citadel Securities, a high-speed trading firm. He realized that as AI-driven algorithms became more powerful in finance, the markets themselves were beginning to move continuously, with no need for a pause. “That same dynamic will play out in more and more areas of the economy over the next five to seven years,” Buhler predicted.
Overnight Work Becomes Normal
The benefits of AI working through the night are already visible. Aaron Levie, CEO of the cloud software company Box, described how AI has changed his own work patterns. In the past, he might have sent a late-night email asking an employee to research a market trend or strategy. That kind of request might have gone unanswered until the next morning. Now, he can hand off the task to an AI agent.
“There was never a world where I could send that off to an analyst at midnight and wake up with that being done,” Levie said. “There was like maybe one person, every 10 years in the company who was that sort of night owl. But by and large it was not possible.” AI has replaced that limitation with a reliable process that can search databases, read news, track competitors, and return complete reports in a matter of hours.
This capacity to generate results overnight is helping companies make faster decisions and avoid delays that used to cost time and opportunities.
The Pressure for Zero Latency
In many industries, especially sales and customer service, speed is becoming more important than ever. Companies are now expected to respond instantly to customer needs. AI is making that possible. Stav Levi Neumark, CEO of Alta, a company that provides AI agents for customer experience, said that companies are pushing toward what she called “zero latency.” She added, “Every minute of delay can diminish a customer’s intent.”
If someone visits a website or submits a question in the middle of the night, an AI agent can handle it with the same level of intelligence and consistency that would be available during business hours. Customers no longer need to wait until the next day. This is creating new expectations for what good service looks like, and businesses that fail to meet these expectations risk being left behind.
Faster Decisions, New Rhythms
This always-on reality is not just about AI doing more work. It is also about businesses adapting how they make decisions. Todd Olson, CEO of Pendo, a company that helps improve software user experiences, argued that traditional business routines are too slow for today’s pace. “Business needs to develop a new cadence,” Olson said.
Instead of waiting for weekly or monthly meetings, Olson believes companies need to rely more on asynchronous communication tools like Slack. That way, decisions can be made quickly, without requiring everyone to be in the same room or even in the same time zone. It also means teams can act on new data as soon as it becomes available, instead of letting insights sit idle until a scheduled conversation.
As Buhler put it, this shift is not just about making predictions with AI. It is about “acting on them continuously.”
The Creator Economy and Digital Clones
This always-on model is also transforming the creator economy. Millions of online creators already use AI tools to plan content, edit videos, and manage their social media. But the next phase involves AI clones—digital versions of the creators themselves. These clones, powered by companies like Meta, OpenAI, and TikTok’s parent company ByteDance, are able to create and share content that looks and sounds just like the original human.
According to a survey cited by Fortune, 92 percent of creators already use generative AI tools. Nearly half said they are either comfortable or open to the idea of creating AI replicas of themselves. The appeal is easy to understand. A clone can keep working when the creator wants to rest, take a break, or travel. Creators could even use clones to produce personalized messages or host simulated live events at scale, something that would be impossible for a single person to manage alone.
Competition from Clones and AI Avatars
However, these tools are also opening the door to new kinds of competition. Opportunistic users can generate AI avatars from scratch—characters that are not based on any real person—and use them to flood platforms with content. These AI-generated videos, images, and posts can capture attention and algorithmic reach, even if they lack any personal backstory or emotional connection to a real creator.
“The oncoming avalanche of AI avatars will threaten to take attention away from human creators,” Fortune warned, noting that these digital performers may eventually outproduce and outcompete their human counterparts. Still, for now, early data shows that real human creators tend to get more engagement on platforms like Instagram than their AI competitors. This suggests that authenticity still matters, at least for now.
Will Audiences Follow Clones?
As AI clones become more common, there is still uncertainty about whether audiences will trust and follow them. A key question is whether consumers will accept recommendations from AI influencers. If followers find them persuasive, advertisers will shift their spending accordingly. That could cause a major change in how marketing and sponsorships work.
On the other hand, human creators could use their clones to make more money in new ways. For example, they could offer cheaper services through their digital copies and charge a premium for interactions with their real selves. This would allow them to scale their income while preserving their brand’s value.
Human Value in a Machine World
Not everyone is focused on the business benefits. Some experts are asking what this always-on model means for human dignity and purpose. Grzegorz Zatoń, a senior tech consultant, shared his concerns about a world where machines never sleep. “In quietly replacing many of our functions, it forces us to confront our own value—not in terms of efficiency, but essence,” he said.
As AI systems take over tasks once seen as signs of skill or intelligence, people may start asking deeper questions about what gives their work meaning. Zatoń pointed out that we are already in a time of “societal reflection” in which more people are searching for identity beyond productivity.
He also warned that if we let machines define the rules of work, we might lose something essential about being human. “If the human worker becomes optional,” he asked, “what happens to dignity, to purpose?”
What Comes Next
There is no question that AI is enabling a dramatic change in how the economy functions. Businesses that adapt to this new rhythm may thrive. Those that fail to keep up risk being left behind. But alongside these technological breakthroughs is a growing need for thoughtful leadership, humane systems, and a clear understanding of what work means in an AI-driven world.
The always-on economy is already here. The challenge now is not just how to use it—but how to live within it.
