Dive Brief:
- Enterprises have big plans for AI agents in the year ahead despite looming concerns over security and governance, according to Tray.ai research published last month.
- More than 2 in 5 enterprises plan to build more than 100 AI agent prototypes, the survey of more than 1,000 U.S.-based enterprise tech pros found. Most organizations intend to spend at least $500,000 per year on the initiative.
- Businesses are aiming implementation efforts mostly at the IT service desk, data processing and analytics and code development and testing. Other priorities include cost reduction and increased automation.
Dive Insight:
While CIOs are still learning how to best navigate the generative AI wave, another emerging technology is creeping up: agentic AI.
Unlike current tools that require prompts, AI agents can decide next steps autonomously, such as checking calendars for availability without being explicitly asked to do so before coordinating a meeting time.
Most tech pros anticipate agents will become core to operations over the next 12 months, powering more than 25% of processes by year-end, according to the Tray.ai survey.
While vendors are stepping in to provide enterprises with a path to implementation, most CIOs and analysts say organizations are not yet prepared for autonomous tools.
Similarly to generative AI, enterprises have high expectations for the technology and readiness gaps loom large. Nearly 9 in 10 IT pros say their organization’s tech stack needs upgrading in order to deploy AI agents, the survey found.
The introduction of agents will also require CIOs to strengthen AI governance and security, a process already underway at many organizations.
