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Agentic AI is one of the fastest-emerging technologies in business, with the potential to generate $450 billion in economic value through revenue uplift and cost savings across surveyed countries by 2028, according to the Rise of agentic AI: How trust is the key to human-AI collaboration. The new report from Capgemini Research Institute reveals insights from a survey of 1,500 senior executives across 14 countries on the emergence of AI agents as a transformative force in business.
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Key findings from the Capgemini report
A $450 billion opportunity: By 2028, AI agents could generate up to $450 billion in economic value through revenue growth and cost savings across surveyed markets.
By 2028, AI agents could generate up to $450 billion in economic value through revenue growth and cost savings across surveyed markets. Adoption is accelerating, but maturity remains low: Only 2% of organizations have deployed AI agents at scale, 12% at partial scale, 23% have launched pilots, and 61% are exploring deployment. Fifteen percent of business processes are expected to reach semi- or full autonomy in the next 12 months. However, fewer than one in five organizations report high maturity with respect to the data and technology infrastructure needed to implement agentic AI.
Only 2% of organizations have deployed AI agents at scale, 12% at partial scale, 23% have launched pilots, and 61% are exploring deployment. Fifteen percent of business processes are expected to reach semi- or full autonomy in the next 12 months. However, fewer than one in five organizations report high maturity with respect to the data and technology infrastructure needed to implement agentic AI. Trust in fully autonomous AI agents is declining : It dropped from 43% to 27% in one year. Ethical concerns, lack of transparency, and limited understanding of agentic capabilities are key barriers. Ethical concerns around AI, such as data privacy, algorithmic bias, and the "AI black box," are prevalent, but few organizations act decisively to mitigate them.
: It dropped from 43% to 27% in one year. Ethical concerns, lack of transparency, and limited understanding of agentic capabilities are key barriers. Ethical concerns around AI, such as data privacy, algorithmic bias, and the "AI black box," are prevalent, but few organizations act decisively to mitigate them. Human-AI collaboration is the future: By 2028, 38% of organizations will have AI agents as team members within human teams. Blended teams -- where humans and AI agents collaborate -- will become the norm, driving productivity and innovation. This means that in three years, organizations expect to have AI agents as members within human-supervised teams; AI agents must be seen not as tools, but as part of the team.
What are AI agents and agentic AI?
Here is Capgemini's definition: "AI agents are programs/platforms/software that are connected to the business environment with a defined boundary, make decisions autonomously, and act to achieve specific goals with or without human intervention. With the latest advances in reasoning AI models, AI agents are able to break down tasks, 'reason' through potential pathways to find solutions to the given problem, try those solutions, and present successful outcomes."
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