IBM Study on Mandatory Use of AI Agents

Companies expect the proportion of AI-supported workflows to increase to 25 percent by the end of the year - a massive leap from the current level of just three percent, according to the central statement of the "AI Projects to Profits" study by the IBM Institute for Business Value, which surveyed 2900 managers worldwide. At the heart of this transformation is Agentic AI, which 70 percent of respondents believe will play a key role in the company in the future.

AI orchestration

The focus is shifting from selective automation to end-to-end AI-orchestrated business processes. More and more companies are using AI agents not only to increase efficiency, but also to strategically realign their processes. This involves rethinking existing processes from the ground up: with intelligent, adaptive agents that understand processes, act based on context and prepare decisions across system boundaries or even make them independently.

According to the study, there are five main aspects that motivate companies to introduce agent-based AI: improving decision-making, reducing operational costs through automation, building sustainable competitive advantages, a scalable and more personalized employee experience and greater employee loyalty. This potential is also reflected in the growing investment behavior: 64% of AI budgets are already flowing into central business areas such as Supply Chain, HR or Finance. By 2026, the share of AI in total IT expenditure is expected to rise to 20 percent - a clear sign of the strategic importance of business AI.

AI-first strategy

According to the study, the proportion of companies still using AI in an ad hoc mode has fallen from 19% to 6%. At the same time, one in four companies is already operating with a clearly defined AI-first strategy. These pioneers attribute more than half of their sales and margin growth in the past twelve months directly to their AI initiatives.

At the same time, challenges remain. Issues such as data quality, trust in AI systems and the lack of specialists are slowing down the speed of implementation in many places. Nevertheless, the direction is clear: AI agents are no longer an option for many companies, but a must. They are seen as the key to ushering in the next wave of digital transformation - faster, more efficiently and more intelligently than ever before.

Source: IBM