Key Takeaways
- Agentic artificial intelligence (AI) is shifting from a concept to a reality, with companies rapidly adopting and implementing the technology.
- A recent survey shows that 30% of companies are considering or exploring agentic AI, down from 52% in August, while 24% are piloting or fully using it in production processes.
- Adoption is rising across every sector, with technology companies leading the pack, followed by goods and manufacturing enterprises, and services companies.
- Some companies, such as Kroger, Walmart, and BMW, are already showing off their agentic AI ventures, using the technology to improve efficiency, automate tasks, and enhance customer experiences.
- However, about half of companies remain skeptical or uninterested in agentic AI, with 45% of CPOs saying they don’t have any plans to adopt the technology anytime soon.
Introduction to Agentic AI
Agentic artificial intelligence (AI) was once considered a shiny new idea, but it’s now becoming a reality. Companies are rapidly adopting and implementing the technology, with a recent PYMNTS survey showing a sharp shift from sideline interest to real-world action. As the survey’s results indicate, "a big chunk of the enterprise market moved out of the window-shopping phase" and into actual usage and piloting. According to the survey, "nearly 1 in 4 CPOs reported that they were either piloting agentic AI or fully using it in production processes, up from just 3% in August."
The Shift to Hands-On Implementation
The survey, which was completed in November, explored how chief product officers at U.S. businesses are thinking about and using agentic AI. The results show that the number of enterprises using or testing agentic AI spiked sevenfold in just three months. As the survey’s authors note, "the still phase is giving way" and companies are moving from passive interest to hands-on implementation. For example, Board, an enterprise planning platform, recently launched tools and services for finance, supply chain, and merchandising planning that were developed with Microsoft Foundry using Microsoft Azure’s agentic AI. As the company’s press release states, "the broad vision that we’re working towards is one where the [company] of the future is going to be a fully AI-connected enterprise."
Industry Adoption and Trends
Adoption is rising across every sector, with technology companies leading the pack, followed by goods and manufacturing enterprises, and services companies. Goods and manufacturing enterprises saw one of the biggest jumps in implementation, going from almost no usage last August to nearly 1 in 5 firms using or piloting the technology by November. Services companies followed a similar path, with adoption jumping fivefold, from 4.3% in August to 25% three months later. As Derek Waldron, Chief Data Analytics Officer at JPMorgan Chase, told CNBC, "the broad vision that we’re working towards is one where the JPMorgan Chase of the future is going to be a fully AI-connected enterprise." The company has started deploying agents internally to automate labor-intensive tasks, with one agent able to produce an investment banking deck in 30 seconds.
Real-World Applications and Success Stories
Some companies are already showing off their agentic AI ventures, using the technology to improve efficiency, automate tasks, and enhance customer experiences. For example, grocery giant Kroger is introducing Google’s Gemini agent tools to allow shoppers to convert a request into a shopping cart of ingredients through a single click. Walmart has announced an agentic commerce partnership with Google that will take consumers from online shopping to purchase to delivery. Rideshare and delivery firm Uber is using agentic tools it developed internally to improve employees’ workplace communications in Slack, reducing "incorrect advice" in Slack messages by 60%. As the company’s press release states, "the tool has reduced what it called ‘incorrect advice’ in Slack messages by 60%." BMW is using a multi-agent system to boost efficiency across its manufacturing plants, where specialized autonomous actors collaborate.
Skepticism and Challenges
However, about half of companies remain skeptical or uninterested in agentic AI, with 45% of CPOs saying they don’t have any plans to adopt the technology anytime soon. This portion might be a steep drop-off from June, when 90% said the same, but it’s entirely unchanged from August. As the survey’s authors note, "there’s not a lot of middle ground: Companies are either racing toward autonomous systems or sitting agentic AI out — for now — altogether." Despite the challenges and skepticism, the technology is advancing rapidly, and companies that adopt it early may have a competitive advantage in the market. As Waldron notes, "the broad vision that we’re working towards is one where the [company] of the future is going to be a fully AI-connected enterprise."
Enterprises Rapidly Adopt Agentic AI After Months of Caution