Science has increasingly used artificial intelligence (AI) as a kind of microscope—sorting data, analyzing images and revealing hidden patterns. Now a new shift is underway: AI that not only breaks down data but also helps scientists decide what to do next through simple, natural language requests.

With this emerging technology—agentic AI—scientists can ask questions and direct actions in everyday language. The system then helps perform or determine next steps, turning complex workflows into straightforward, chat-powered conversational exchanges.

At the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory, researchers recently demonstrated this agentic AI capability as part of the Synergistic Neutron and Photon Science—Intelligence (SYNAPS-I) project, which integrates data from neutron, X-ray and microscopy experiments across national labs into a single effort.