(Expanding on my earlier quick-thought piece on APIs)
APIs Hidden in Plain Sight
APIs are often dismissed as “technical plumbing,” invisible to most business leaders. Yet they quietly power nearly every digital interaction, from mobile payments to streaming recommendations. Some of the most valuable companies in the world—Amazon, Stripe, Twilio—built their fortunes by turning APIs into products. Now, APIs are entering an even more strategic chapter. They are becoming the backbone of agentic AI and orchestration frameworks like the Model Context Protocol (MCP).
Leaders who see APIs as minor enablers are missing the bigger picture. APIs are not small. They are strategic levers for growth, efficiency, and entirely new business models.
Why APIs Are Essential in 2025
In the era of agentic AI, APIs remain foundational. They serve as the medium for data access, action execution, and scalable integration across diverse platforms and workflows. Their importance can be broken down into three dimensions:
Actionable Interfaces
Agentic AI agents require APIs to interact with external systems and perform real-world actions such as scheduling meetings, processing transactions, and orchestrating tasks. APIs are what transform intent into execution.
Data Access
APIs provide direct, real-time access to structured data and services, enabling agents to retrieve information, analyze results, and make informed decisions autonomously. This data layer is essential for grounding agentic AI in business reality.
Inter-Agent Collaboration
APIs enable agents to coordinate with one another in complex workflows and distributed networks, standardizing how responsibilities and results are shared. This is how autonomous ecosystems scale.
Healthcare provides a vivid example. Optum has developed a robust portfolio of APIs that simplify secure access to claims, eligibility, and clinical data. These APIs reduce administrative burden while enabling digital health innovation. In the near future, agentic AI layered on top of these APIs could autonomously check benefits, submit claims, and schedule services without human bottlenecks. (Disclaimer: I work at Optum)
APIs as Growth Engines
Beyond their technical role, APIs are measurable business drivers.
Revenue Impact
API-first companies consistently outperform. A McKinsey study found that firms that expose APIs generate 12% more revenue from digital channels than peers. Stripe monetized payments by turning APIs into products, becoming the backbone of countless e-commerce businesses. Twilio followed a similar model with communications, now powering billions of global interactions.
Efficiency Gains
APIs slash integration costs and reduce time-to-market. Research highlighted by Harvard Business Review found that organizations using APIs cut product launch times by up to 50%.
Ecosystem Growth
APIs enable platform strategies. Uber relies on Google Maps APIs. Shopify’s APIs power thousands of third-party apps. Salesforce APIs created the AppExchange ecosystem, driving billions in partner innovation.
Healthcare again demonstrates this point. Optum APIs allow providers, payers, and partners to tap into national-scale datasets and services. This transforms healthcare from siloed workflows into interoperable, scalable ecosystems.
Resilience
API-driven architectures future-proof businesses. Modular APIs enable organizations to swap components without endangering the whole system. Deloitte has found that companies with mature API strategies adapt faster and at lower cost to market disruptions.
From Copilots to Agents
The last wave of AI tools were copilots—assistants that help users summarize documents, write code, or draft emails. Agentic AI marks a step-change. Agents don’t just assist; they execute. They reason, plan, and act autonomously across systems.
But execution is only possible if agents have APIs to call. APIs are the hands and feet of AI. They let an agent verify a claim, process a payment, or re-route a shipment. Without APIs, agentic AI is stranded in theory.
Consider healthcare again. A patient-facing agent may need to verify eligibility and schedule a specialist visit. By calling relevant APIs, the agent can check benefits in real-time, find an in-network provider, and book an appointment—actions that today require human coordination and multiple phone calls.
Traditional APIs vs Agentic-AI-Ready APIs
| Dimension | Traditional APIs | Agentic-AI-Ready APIs |
|---|---|---|
| Interaction Model | Static, request-response | Dynamic, context-aware, intent-driven |
| Documentation | Often technical and human-focused | Machine-readable, standardized (OpenAPI) |
| Security | Authentication and authorization | Granular access, behavioral monitoring, audit logs |
| Orchestration | Point-to-point integrations | Multi-step workflows, agent coordination |
| Scalability | Designed for human-triggered workloads | Designed for autonomous agents operating at scale |
API Evolution for Agentic AI
The rise of agentic AI is shifting API design and management in three important way
Dynamic Interaction
APIs are moving from static endpoints to adaptive, context-aware interfaces that interpret intent and deliver goal-driven outcomes. This evolution enables more natural collaboration between agents and APIs.
Documentation & Discoverability
Agents cannot guess how to use APIs—they need standardized specifications such as OpenAPI. High-quality documentation ensures agents can reliably discover and interact with APIs in complex enterprise environments. Poor documentation becomes a bottleneck for automation.
Security Requirements
As agents autonomously access sensitive data and trigger workflows, security stakes rise. Behavioral monitoring, granular access controls, and audit logs are critical. APIs must evolve into governance frameworks, not just interfaces.
Roles of APIs in Agentic AI
| Role of APIs | Description |
|---|---|
| Data & Service Access | Real-time, secure access to external information and actions |
| Workflow Automation | Enables orchestration of complex, multi-step processes by agents |
| Inter-Agent Collaboration | Structured methods for agents to collaborate and delegate tasks |
| Discoverability & Documentation | Standardized, high-quality docs enable agents to find and use APIs effectively |
| Security & Compliance | Advanced security models ensure safe, auditable API access for agents |
MCP and AI-Native Orchestration
The Model Context Protocol (MCP), introduced in 2024, bridges agents and APIs in an AI-native way. MCP layers new capabilities onto APIs:
- Maintains state across multi-step workflows.
- Enables dynamic discovery of available tools.
- Wraps APIs in schema-defined, agent-friendly functions.
- Supports real-time and multimodal interactions.
Industry adoption is accelerating:
- Microsoft is embedding MCP into Windows AI Foundry, Azure, and Copilot Studio.
- Postman now supports MCP, making any API AI-ready.
- Salesforce and MuleSoft are enabling agent-to-agent orchestration with governance.
MCP doesn’t replace APIs. It amplifies them, ensuring APIs remain the foundation of agentic AI.
Industry Practices and Trends
- AI platforms such as OpenAI, LangChain, and Copilot Studio publish APIs designed for agents, emphasizing modular integration, interoperability, and security.
- APIs are increasingly being designed not just for humans, but also agents—with permission scopes, audit trails, and usage boundaries built in.
- Healthcare innovation illustrates the stakes: APIs position the sector for agentic orchestration that reduces friction, improves outcomes, and aligns with regulatory requirements.
Strategic Takeaways for Leaders
- Reframe APIs as strategic assets. They are growth drivers, not costs.
- Invest in developer experience. Documentation and usability are critical for human and AI users.
- Measure API business impact. Track adoption, revenue contribution, and efficiency gains.
- Prepare APIs for AI. Focus on dynamic interaction, discoverability, and advanced security.
- Think ecosystem-first. APIs make your business interoperable in an agentic economy.
Without strong APIs, innovation stalls. With them, entire ecosystems can emerge to support the critical stakeholders, generating platform network effects.
Conclusion: APIs as the Foundation of the Next Business Model
APIs are not small. They are the connective tissue of modern business. As MCP and agentic AI rise, APIs are becoming not just connections but autonomous growth levers. Leaders who treat them as cost centers will miss the platform shift already underway. The future belongs to those who see APIs as strategic.