# Agentic AI Roadmap 2026: Learn These 10 Skills in Order

> A complete path from Python and LLM fundamentals to tools, RAG, memory, reasoning, multi-agent systems, MCP, evaluation, observability and production-ready AI agents — with a 90-day learning plan.

- Source: https://akshaythakare.com/videos/agentic-ai-roadmap-2026
- Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q36C2IYC1E4
- Technologies: Python, LLMs, Function calling, RAG, Vector databases, LangGraph, MCP, Claude Agent SDK, OpenAI Agents SDK
- Published: 2026-10-06
- Updated: 2026-10-11

A complete path from Python and LLM fundamentals to tools, RAG, memory, reasoning, multi-agent systems, MCP, evaluation, observability and production-ready AI agents — with a 90-day learning plan.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q36C2IYC1E4&t=0s) What if AI could do more than answer?
- [0:57](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q36C2IYC1E4&t=57s) AI Agent vs Chatbot
- [2:01](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q36C2IYC1E4&t=121s) The Complete Agentic AI Roadmap
- [2:48](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q36C2IYC1E4&t=168s) Stage 1: Python & APIs
- [3:45](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q36C2IYC1E4&t=225s) Stage 2: How LLMs Work
- [5:01](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q36C2IYC1E4&t=301s) Stage 3: Tools & Function Calling
- [6:02](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q36C2IYC1E4&t=362s) Stage 4: RAG & Retrieval
- [7:02](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q36C2IYC1E4&t=422s) Stage 5: Agent Memory
- [7:46](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q36C2IYC1E4&t=466s) Stage 6: Reasoning Patterns
- [8:40](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q36C2IYC1E4&t=520s) Stage 7: Multi-Agent Systems
- [9:21](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q36C2IYC1E4&t=561s) Stage 8: AI Agent Frameworks & MCP
- [10:32](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q36C2IYC1E4&t=632s) Stage 9: Evaluation & Observability
- [11:15](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q36C2IYC1E4&t=675s) Stage 10: Guardrails & Safety
- [12:03](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q36C2IYC1E4&t=723s) Real AI Agent Project Architecture
- [12:45](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q36C2IYC1E4&t=765s) Real Customer Support Agent: Step by Step
- [13:48](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q36C2IYC1E4&t=828s) Taking an AI Agent to Production
- [14:28](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q36C2IYC1E4&t=868s) Your 90-Day Agentic AI Learning Plan
- [15:02](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q36C2IYC1E4&t=902s) Final Roadmap

## What this video covers

Most AI systems simply generate an answer. **AI agents reason, use tools, retrieve information, take actions, check results and complete tasks.** This roadmap lays out the ten skills to learn — in order — to build them properly, without framework-first shortcuts.

```mermaid
flowchart LR
  P[Python & APIs] --> L[How LLMs work] --> T[Tools & function calling] --> R[RAG & retrieval] --> M[Agent memory]
  M --> RE[Reasoning patterns] --> MA[Multi-agent systems] --> F[Frameworks & MCP] --> E[Evaluation & observability] --> G[Guardrails & safety]
```

## The agent loop

**Read → Plan → Act → Check → Repeat.** Every stage of the roadmap strengthens one part of that loop: tools let the agent act, retrieval and memory let it read, reasoning patterns let it plan, and evaluation, tracing and guardrails let you check it in production.

## The 90-day plan

| Month | Focus | Build |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 · Foundations | Python, APIs, LLM fundamentals | A small assistant that consistently returns structured JSON |
| 2 · Agent capabilities | Tools, function calling, RAG, memory | An agent that searches your own documents and calls a real API |
| 3 · Production | Evaluation, tracing, observability, guardrails | One complete production-style agent, published on GitHub |

## Go deeper

The related notes below expand the stages with code: what makes an agent, tool-calling patterns, RAG fundamentals and chunking strategies.