A survey of 500 business and IT decision-makers who have successfully introduced agent-powered AI into their businesses found they had several things in common.
The companies that succeeded maximised the benefits of their AI projects by fostering a culture of collaboration and innovation, according to a Pegasystems study of successful agentic AI implementations.
The successful organisations had a corporate-level strategy and plan for agentic AI execution, and a top-down strategy in place, said Don Schuerman, Pega’s chief technology officer.
“There is still a lot of pressure, especially from boards, to drive technology for technology’s sake, as opposed to a specific solution to a specific business problem,” he said.
More than half (53%) of business leaders said they had changed their existing business processes to a “significant” extent by reimagining everything their organisation does to gain maximum benefit from their agentic implementations.
And 80% of the successful organisations agreed that business and IT teams were willing to embrace new technology, innovation and ideas to explore new possibilities.
According to Pegasystems, which carried out the study with research firm Savanta, the companies that succeeded were motivated by a desire to produce consistent, predictable outcomes.
Three-quarters (71%) of successful agentic AI implementers said one of their top two pre-deployment objectives was to automate and simplify complex processes so they work consistently and predictably across systems and platforms.
Over half (58%) also reported they had already seen predictable outcomes, reduced complexity and improved customer experiences.
Metrics and strategies
The research showed that companies that had successfully implemented agentic AI projects had clearly defined metrics and strategies.
Some 95% of those have a specific corporate-level strategy and plan for execution, and 65% have comprehensive, pre-agreed success metrics tied to business outcomes that are regularly reviewed to monitor implementation success.
The winners in the agentic era will not be those who deploy agents wherever and whenever they can. They will be those who reimagine themselves and find new ways to give clients and their customers what they want Don Schuerman, Pegasystems
Almost two-thirds (61%) said they start an agentic project with the expectation it will “significantly” improve customer experience once fully integrated, which more than half (58%) begin those projects believing they will realise significant, measurable value – including the potential for both increased customer satisfaction and cost reduction.
When asked to name leading barriers to achieving a positive agentic project outcome, over three-quarters (77%) pointed to a lack of sufficient resources.
Three-quarters (75%) agreed that a lack of knowledge and understanding of the benefits agentic AI can bring to the business is the biggest barrier to agentic AI success.
“We’re fast reaching a tipping point with agentic AI where adoption is high within organisations, but maturity is not,” said Schuerman.
“The value will come from rethinking ways of working and aligning culture around what AI makes possible. Those changes are what separates the promise of AI technology from the reality of creating truly transformational benefits,” he added.
“The winners in the agentic era will not be those who deploy agents wherever and whenever they can. They will be those who reimagine themselves and find new ways to give clients and their customers what they want,” he said.
