AIPulseSurvey:WhyagenticAIisarevolutionstuckin

anevolution

Whyisn’trisingAIspendtranslatingintoenterprise-scalegains?

97%

ofseniorleaderswhoseorganizationsare

investinginAIareexperiencingpositiveROIfromAIacrossbusinessfunctions

EYUSAIPulseSurvey:WhyagenticAIisarevolutionstuckinanevolution|02

AgenticAI

Investments

Executivesummary

What’snext?

Conclusion

DataandresponsibleAI

EXECUTIVESUMMARY

It’sthebuzzwordoneveryone’slipsintheC-suite;agenticartificial

intelligence(AI).ButwhatisagenticAI?Areyoureadyforit—orare

youusingitalready?TheEYUSAIPulseSurveyrevealsacomplexmix

ofviewpointsincontrasttothehype:broaderadoptioninnarrowlydefinedcontexts,oftenchallengedbyfamiliarbarriers.Meanwhile,investmentsareshiftingtocustomAIsolutions.

PositiveROI:97%ofseniorleaderswhoseorganizationsareinvestinginAIareexperiencing

positiveROIfromAIacrossbusinessfunctions,withasignificantgapinROIoutcomesbetweenthoseallocating5%ormoreoftheirbudgettoAIvs.thosespendingless.

AgenticAIbarriers:While34%ofleadershavestartedimplementingagenticAI,only14%reportfullimplementation,andusecaseslargelyfallwithinassisting/managingprocesses.And87%

ofseniorleadersidentifybarrierstoagenticAIadoptionintheirorganizations,including

cybersecurityanddataprivacyconcerns.Manyseniorleaders(64%)saythatfearofreplacementbyAIalsocontributestohesitancyinadoption.

InvestmentinAI:Asoftoday,21%ofseniorleaderswhoseorganizationsareinvesting

inAIreporttheirorganizationscurrentlyhave$10millionormoreinvestedinAI,with35%planningtodosonextyear,reflectinggrowingconfidenceinAI’stransformativepotential.

Shiftinginvestmentpriorities:OrganizationsareincreasinglyfocusingonbuildingcustomAIsolutionsin-houseratherthanacquiringAIfirms,indicatingashifttowardstrengtheninginternalcapabilities.

DataandresponsibleAI

Executivesummary

AgenticAI

What’snext?

Investments

Conclusion

ANAIINVESTMENTPARADOX

WithagenticAIpromisingtomakeorbreakcompaniesintheyearsahead,butsomuchuncertaintyflowingfromeverydirectionintoday’seconomy,canweexpectexecutivestoadvancecautiouslyaroundfamiliarroadblocksonAI—orhittheacceleratorforafirst-moveradvantage?ThelatestEYUSAIPulseSurveyrevealsthatleadersarereadytospend,withabouthalfofrespondentssaying,perhapsdubiously,thattheirorganizationiscurrentlyleveragingagenticAI,atermthatnowencompassesalmosteverything.

About21%ofseniorleaderswhoseorganizationsareinvestinginAIsaytheirorganizationshavecurrentlyinvested$10millionormoreinAI,jumpingupfrom16%justayearago.But35%say

theyexpecttospendthatmuchonAInextyear—amassivevoteofconfidenceinthetechnology’sabilitytodelivertransformativevalue.

Ourmostrecentsurveyrevealsthat97%ofseniorleaderswhoseorganizationsareinvestinginAIareseeingpositiveROIfromAIacrossbusinessfunctions.AndtheROIgapismore

pronouncedwhencomparingthosewhoallocate5%ormoreoftheirtotalbudgettoAIagainstthosespendingunder5%.

EYUSAIPulseSurvey:WhyagenticAIisarevolutionstuckinanevolution|03

21%

ofseniorleaderswhoseorganizationsareinvestinginAIsaytheirorganizationshavecurrentlyinvested$10millionormoreinAI

PositiveROIbasedonamountoftotalbudgetallocatedtoAI

Technologyupgrades

82%

62%

Customersatisfaction

78%

55%

Cybersecurity

78%

49%

Competitiveadvantages

76%

43%

Productinnovation

74%

43%

Budgeting5%ormoreBudgetinglessthan5%

PositiveROIfromAIinvestments

(AmongseniorleaderswhoseorganizationisinvestinginAI)

Allresponses

97%

97%

97%

Employeeproductivity

74%

82%

82%

Technologyupgrades

79%

79%71%

Operationalef?ciencies

81%

84%

77%

Customersatisfaction

75%

75%72%

Cybersecurity

74%

78%

72%

Competitiveadvantages

72%

77%

70%

Productinnovation

70%

75%

69%

Wave3Wave2Wave1

EYUSAIPulseSurvey:WhyagenticAIisarevolutionstuckinanevolution|04

DataandresponsibleAI

Executivesummary

AgenticAI

What’snext?

Investments

Conclusion

Butacloserlookrevealsnuancesthatcallintoquestioncompanies’tacticsandwhetherthey

canfullymaximizethegrowingpotential.Forinstance,althoughratesofpositiveROIamongall

seniorsleaderswhoseorganizationisinvestinginAIhaveclimbedinmostofourpolledcategoriesinthelastyear(fromwave1towave2)—suchasoperationalefficiencies,competitiveadvantagesandproductinnovation—todaytheyhavestagnatedordirectionallydeclinedfromtheresults

ofsixmonthsago.OrganizationsarelikelytrendingawayfromabaselinelevelofAIintegrationandtowardspecialized,transformativeapplicationsthatrequiremoreadvancedcapabilitiesandgreateralignment.

AIoffersdramaticpossibilitiesinallthesefields,particularlyasthebuzzswellsaroundagentic

AI,whicharesystemsdesignedtoautonomouslymakedecisionsandact,possessingtheability

topursuecomplexgoalswithlimitedsupervision.TheEYUSAIPulseSurveyquestionedsenior

leadersonagenticAIforthefirsttime,because—withsomuchmoneyontheline—organizationsshouldexpecttoacceleratetowardtheirAIfuture,noteventuallycatchuptoit.Butarethey

lookingbackwardmorethanforward?

AIenthusiasm

mayoutpace

execution.

AgenticAI

Investments

Executivesummary

What’snext?

Conclusion

DataandresponsibleAI

HasagenticAIreallyarrived,orisitamirage?

EYUSAIPulseSurvey:WhyagenticAIisarevolutionstuckinanevolution|05

DataandresponsibleAI

Executivesummary

AgenticAI

What’snext?

Investments

Conclusion

WHATAGENTICAIDOES

Actsautonomously

Understandscontext

Makesdecisionsandactsonthem

Pursuescomplexgoals,stepbystep

Requiresonlylimitedsupervision,ifatall

While34%ofseniorleaderssaytheirorganizationhasalreadystartedtoimplementagenticAItechnology,only14%saythetechhasbeenfullyimplemented.Butourresultsreflectsome

discomfortaboutwhatagentsareintendedtodoandthepotentialimpactonorganizations.

Specifically,seniorleaderssaytheirorganizationiscurrentlyleveragingagenticAIforassisting/managingprocesses(86%),specificallyenhancingmarketing/customersupport(55%),improvingITefficiency(55%)andimprovingcybersecurity(51%),amongothertasks.

It’sworthassessinghow“agenticAI”isdefinedhere.“Bytheirnature,agentsareintendedtoautonomouslycompletetasksandevenworkwithotheragents,notmerelyassistormanage,”

saysDanDiasio,EYGlobalConsultingAILeader.“Theseactivitiesarealluseful,buttheyonlyscratchthesurfaceofwhat’spossible.We’retalkingaboutastepchangeinhowworkisdone,notgoingacoupleofstepsbeyondroboticprocessautomation(RPA)-leveltasks.”

SeniorleadersthemselvestalkaboutthestruggletopindowntheprecisenatureofagenticAI.

Manynotethatseniorleadersintheirindustry(57%)andintheirownorganization(54%)failto

understandthebenefitsofagenticAI.Most(73%)recognizethepowerofagents,believingthat

EYUSAIPulseSurvey:WhyagenticAIisarevolutionstuckinanevolution|06

onedaytheywillmanageentirebusinessunits.Meanwhile,89%saythatwhiletheyareoptimisticaboutagenticAI’sbenefits,built-inhumaninterventionwillalwaysbecrucial.

HowagenticAIisbeingdeployedtoday

Assisting/managingprocesses

86%

Assistingtasks

78%

Managingwork?ows

72%

Leadingoperations

58%

Drivingcompanies

53%

89%

ofseniorleaderssaythatwhiletheyareoptimisticaboutagenticAI’sbenefits,built-inhumaninterventionwillalwaysbecrucial

DataandresponsibleAI

Executivesummary

AgenticAI

What’snext?

Investments

Conclusion

“Thesestatisticsseemtocontradicteachother,”Diasiosays.“Ourrespondentsbelieveagents

willmanagebusinessunitsyetalsothattheywillneverbeabletodoitwithouthumanassistance.Thisspeakstohowwearebothimpressedwithandintimidatedbywhatwe’reseeingfromAI—

howthetechnologyforcesustoreassessourownfuturesintheworkplaceandinsociety—aswellashowmanychallengesonadoptionpersist,includingjustourownmindsets.”

Indeed,87%ofseniorleaderssaytherearebarrierstoagenticAIadoptionintheirorganization—essentiallyeveryrespondentwhosaystheyhaven’tfullyimplementedthetechnologyalready.

AnothercomplexsetofdatapointsrevealsmorecracksinhowwethinkaboutAI:64%ofseniorleadersagreethatthefearofreplacement,asopposedtoaugmentation,willstifleagenticAI

adoption,yetonly24%sayemployeeresistanceisoneofthebiggestbarrierstoadoption.

Organizationsshoulddevotemoreefforttowarddefiningwhattheywantfromagentsandhowtheyfitinwithcompanyvaluesandstrategies:

Whatlevelofcomfortdoleadershavewiththeirautonomouspotential?

Areyoulimitingyourorganizationtomerelycuttingcostswithinwhat’sdonetodayinsteadofbuildinganewtomorrow?

Whatshouldhumantalentbeallocatedtodo?

Whatmetricsareusedtoguideperformance?

EYUSAIPulseSurvey:WhyagenticAIisarevolutionstuckinanevolution|07

“Agentspresentanopportunitytoachievemore—whatwasneverbelievedpossible,”Diasiosays.“Therightorganizationswillseizetheadditivepowerofbothagentsandhumansandchannelcostsavingsintoinnovation.”

BarrierstoagenticAIadoption

Cybersecurityconcerns

35%

Dataprivacyconcerns

30%

LackofregulationsoveragenticAIusage

21%

LackofcompanypoliciesaroundagenticAI

21%

LackoforganizationalstrategyforagenticAIadoption17%

64%

ofseniorleadersagreethatthefearofreplacement,

asopposedtoaugmentation,willstifleagenticAIadoption

AgenticAI

Investments

Executivesummary

What’snext?

Conclusion

DataandresponsibleAI

“

Thesestatisticsseemtocontradicteachother.

Ourrespondentsbelieveagentswillmanagebusinessunitsyetalsothattheywillneverbeabletodo

itwithouthumanassistance.Thisspeakstohow

wearebothimpressedwithandintimidatedbywhatwe,reseeingfromAI—howthetechnologyforces

ustoreassessourownfuturesintheworkplace

andinsociety—aswellashowmanychallenges

onadoptionpersist,includingjustourownmindsets.

DanDiasio,EYGlobalConsultingAILeader

EYUSAIPulseSurvey:WhyagenticAIisarevolutionstuckinanevolution|08

AgenticAI

Investments

Executivesummary

What’snext?

Conclusion

DataandresponsibleAI

Investments—

makingaturninward

EYUSAIPulseSurvey:WhyagenticAIisarevolutionstuckinanevolution|09

DataandresponsibleAI

Executivesummary

AgenticAI

What’snext?

Investments

Conclusion

INVESTMENTSSHIFTINWARD

WiththeireyeonagenticAI,organizationsarecontinuingtoinvestinAI,

butinvestmentprioritiesareshifting.Fromwave1towave3—aspan

ofoneyear—moreseniorleaderssaytheirorganizationisbuildingcustom

AIsolutionsin-houseandfocusinglessonacquiringAIfirmsoutright,signalingthatorganizationsarestrengtheningtheirinternal,bespokeAIcapabilities.

SeniorleaderswhoseorganizationisfocusingitsAIinvestmentsonbuyingsolutionsofftheshelf—asin,notspecificallydesignedfortheircompany—reportreducedinvestmentinthenextyear:

anaverageof32%ofAIinvestmentisallocatedforbuyingAIsolutionsofftheshelf,downfrom38%sixmonthsago.

“ThismaysignalsaturationinthemarketaroundhowmanypopularplatformsareaddingAI

functionalitynatively—truly‘a(chǎn)gentic’orotherwise,”saidTraciGusher,EYAmericasAIandData

Leader.“Thebigtechplayers,includingthosethatmakeERP(enterpriseresourceplanning)andCRM(customerrelationshipmanagement)systems,havemadeenormousbetsonthetechnology.Buyingaseparatesolutioninthemarketofftheshelfmayseemunnecessary—andbuilding

acustomtool,todifferentiatefromtheseaofsameness,mayinturnfeelimperative.”

ItisagoodimpulsetodeterminewhereexactlyyourorganizationcanstandoutwithAIandwhereyouwillacceptaleadingsolutionthatanyonecanaccess.Butdonotunderestimatethetime,

EYUSAIPulseSurvey:WhyagenticAIisarevolutionstuckinanevolution|10

effortandcostinvolvedtodevelopandmaintainacustomsolutionandhowexternalalliancescangetyoufromideastorealityfaster,especiallywithAItalentscarceinthemarket.

FollowingthemoneyonAI

BuildingcustomAIsolutionsin-house

64%

57%

56%

Acquiringacompany/companieswithAIcapabilities

45%

45%

51%

Wave3Wave2Wave1

32%

ofAIinvestmentisallocatedforbuyingAIsolutionsofftheshelf,downfrom38%sixmonthsago

AgenticAI

Investments

Executivesummary

What’snext?

Conclusion

DataandresponsibleAI

DataandresponsibleAIremainpersistentareasoffocus

EYUSAIPulseSurvey:WhyagenticAIisarevolutionstuckinanevolution|11

DataandresponsibleAI

Executivesummary

AgenticAI

What’snext?

Investments

Conclusion

POORDATAIN,CASCADEOFERRORSOUT

Sixmonthsfromourlastsurvey,twootherissuesremaintopofmind:dataandresponsibleAI.ButtheconversationaroundagenticAIhasraisedthestakes,highlightinghowseniorleadersmustgrapplewithrisksfromboththeinputsandoutputsofagentsandAImorebroadly.

Forinstance,70%ofseniorleadersrecognizethatorganizations’failuretounderstandtheneedfordatareadinesswillstifleagenticAIadoption,and20%acknowledgethattheirorganization’slackofdatareadinessisoneofthebiggestbarrierstoadoptingagenticAI.

“DataunderpinseveryfacetofAIandbecomesevenmoreimportantforAIagentsiftheyare

toeffectivelyoperateautonomouslytoscalework,orchestrateworkflowsandcompletecomplextasks,”Gushersaid.“Hallucinationscanmagnifyandsnowballwhendatareadinessisweak,

particularlywhenagentsworkwithotheragents.ButwealsofindthatAIcanplayanimportantroleindatacleansingandotherdatamanagementtacticstobuildabetterfoundationfor

agenticAI.”

ResponsibleAIisalsocoretothedebateonAIagentsbecauseagentscanamplifybiasorharm

dataprivacyifdatainputsarepoor.Assuch,moreseniorleaderswhoseorganizationisinvestinginAIsaythetimetheirorganizationhasspentontrainingemployeesonhowtouseAIresponsiblyhasincreasedoverthepastyear(59%inwave3vs.49%inwave1)—anditwillalsoincreaseevenmoreoverthenextyear(64%inwave3vs.49%inwave1).

“Asaconcept,responsibleAIiseasytounderstand,butit’soperationallyfuzzytotrulyimplementformanyorganizations,”saidSinclairSchuller,EYAmericasResponsibleAILeader.“Eachsurvey,youcansimultaneouslyseemoreleaderstakingitseriouslyaswellaspushingitdowntheroad

EYUSAIPulseSurvey:WhyagenticAIisarevolutionstuckinanevolution|12

tonextyearabit.ThetimetooperationalizeandeducatestaffonresponsibleAIisbeforethetoolsareunveiledsothattheycanbeusedconfidently,withAIgovernanceframeworksandcontrolsbuiltintothembydesign,notlayeredonafterthefact.”

TrainingonresponsibleAI

ThetimemyorganizationwillspendorhasspenttotrainemployeesonhowtouseAIresponsibly:

Willincreaseoverthenextyear

64%

59%

49%

Hasincreasedoverthepastyear

59%

58%

49%

Wave3Wave2Wave1

(AmongseniorleaderswhoseorganizationisinvestinginAI)

70%

ofseniorleadersrecognizethatorganizations’failuretounderstandtheneedfordatareadinesswillstifleagenticAIadoption

AgenticAI

Investments

Executivesummary

What’snext?

Conclusion

DataandresponsibleAI

“

Asaconcept,responsibleAIiseasytounderstand,butit,soperationallyfuzzytotrulyimplement

formanyorganizations.Eachsurvey,youcan

simultaneouslyseemoreleaderstakingitseriouslyaswellaspushingitdowntheroadtonextyear

abit.ThetimetooperationalizeandeducatestaffonresponsibleAIisbeforethetoolsareunveiledsothattheycanbeusedconfidently,withAIgovernance

frameworksandcontrolsbuiltintothembydesign,notlayeredonafterthefact.

SinclairSchuller,EYAmericasResponsibleAILeader

EYUSAIPulseSurvey:WhyagenticAIisarevolutionstuckinanevolution|13

AgenticAI

Investments

Executivesummary

What’snext?

Conclusion

DataandresponsibleAI

EYUSAIPulseSurvey:WhyagenticAIisarevolutionstuckinanevolution|14

What’snext?

HerearefourprioritiestohelporganizationsnavigatethecomplexitiesoftheagenticAIera.

GainagenticAIunderstanding:Amidsomuchbuzz,leaders

mustscrutinizewhethertheytrulyunderstandthetechnology—orwhetherit’sbeinglostinmarketingslogans.

Reinforcedatareadiness:AgenticAIfurthermagnifiestheneed

forstrongdatafoundations.Poor-qualityorfragmenteddatawill

snowballriskslikehallucination,especiallyasagentsscaleandinteract.

2

3

Becarefulwithcustomsolutions:CustomAIcanbepowerful—butitalsorequirestime,talentandorchestration.Without

thoughtfulpartners,itcanbecomearesourcedrain.

nIm,,’rlelsvlbiTIilttopt4

AgenticAI

Investments

Executivesummary

What’snext?

Conclusion

DataandresponsibleAI

AUTHORS

CONCLUSION

DanDiasio

EYGlobalArtificialIntelligenceConsultingLeader

Seniorleadersareclearlylookingaheadtothenextbigthingonthe

horizon—agenticAI—whileperhapslosingsightofhowtogetthereandcontinuallybumpingupagainsttheirownlimitations.Amidsomuchhype,theymustscrutinizewhethertheytrulyunderstandthetechnology—

TraciGusher

orwhetherit’sbeinglostinmarketingslogans.Customsolutionscanbepowerfulaswellasanenormousdrainonscarceresources,dragging

AmericasAIandDataLeader

downuncertainROIifnotapproachedwiththoughtfulcollaborators.

AndfoundationalelementssuchasdatareadinessandresponsibleAI

SinclairSchuller

EYAmericasResponsibleAILeader

persistasfocusareasthataregrowingevenmoreimportant.Thewinningbusinesseswon’tjustadoptAI;they’llembeditresponsiblyandscaleit,

withgovernancebakedinfromthestart.

EYUSAIPulseSurvey:WhyagenticAIisarevolutionstuckinanevolution|15

Executivesummary

AgenticAI

Investments

DataandresponsibleAI

Conclusion

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