Most employers ‘missing opportunity’ for end-to-end transformation with AI: report

The top five benefits of agentic AI systems that are driving adoption across industries, according to the report, are:

1. Over two-thirds (69 per cent) of executives surveyed say improved decision-making is the number one benefit of agentic AI systems.
2. About two-thirds (67 per cent) cite cost reduction through automation as a benefit.
3. Almost half (47 per cent) indicate competitive advantage as a top benefit of agentic AI systems.
4. Scaled employee experience is cited as a top benefit, according to 44 per cent of executives surveyed.
5. 42 per cent indicate that improved talent retention is another major benefit to implementing agentic AI systems.

Over eight in 10 (83 per cent) of respondents say they expect AI agents to improve process efficiency and output by 2026, and 71 per cent believe agents will autonomously adapt to changing workflows, according to the report titled From AI projects to profits: How agentic AI can sustain financial returns.

“We see more clients looking at agentic AI as the key to help them move past incremental productivity gains and actually gain business value from AI, especially when applied in their core processes like supply chain and HR,” says Francesco Brenna, VP & senior partner, AI Integration Services, IBM Consulting. “This isn’t about plugging an agent into an existing process and hoping for the best. It means re-architecting how the process is executed, redesigning the user experience, orchestrating agents end-to-end, and integrating the right data to provide context, memory, and intelligence throughout.”

Still, very few employers globally have structured plans to support workers, build skills, and lead through AI disruption. Specifically, just 10 per cent of companies qualify as “future-ready,” according to a previous report from The Adecco Group.