AI agent adoption rates are at 50% in tech companies. Is this the future of work?

The Star

a day ago

Agent AI is, for the moment, one of the most advanced forms of the new technology, in which agents informed by AI can carry out more complex tasks than the large language model chatbot tools. — Pixabay
Artificial intelligence use in the workplace keeps growing, and it's no surprise the tech sector is a leader in harnessing those tools. But a new report from the accounting and consulting giant EY makes clear just how quickly the industry has gotten onboard the AI train. The firm quizzed senior executives and found incredibly positive sentiment toward AI and its promise for helping companies grow, with nary a hint of the kind of doubts found in other recent reports.
You may think it's obvious that tech firms think they'll benefit from AI – after all, Google has said it will spend US$100bil (RM425.60bil) on next-gen tech, and certainly expects to reap the benefits of that investment. Microsoft, Meta, OpenAI, and others have revealed similar plans. But the point is, it's not just the big names with big investments that feel this way. And in our technology-centric world, tech firms blaze a trail that other industries then follow.
EY's Technology Pulse Poll surveyed over 500 senior technology company leaders – and reported that nearly half of them said they were already fully deployed or were in the process of adopting agent AI tech into their company. Agent AI is, for the moment, one of the most advanced forms of the new technology, in which 'agents' informed by AI can carry out more complex tasks than the large language model chatbot tools popularised by OpenAI's ChatGPT application.
Big service providers like Salesforce, Google, and numerous other firms are now in the early phases of rolling out what OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman has heralded as the next generation of AI tools.
The executives EY spoke to are putting their money where their mouths are. A whopping 92% expect to actually increase the amount they spend on AI over the next year – a 10% point rise from 2024. This effectively means nearly every tech executive in the survey plans to spend more on AI in the near future, a clear sign that whatever experimental phase agent AI was in is over, and the tech has been widely accepted despite bumps in its development. We're far beyond snake oil territory with that kind of leadership buy-in.
Ken Englund, technology sector growth leader at EY, confirmed in an email interview with Inc. that he believes this AI funding is 'coming from the reprioritisation of existing programs and some operational efficiencies at technology organisations.' Essentially, last year leaders spent a little on AI as part of 'pilots and proof of concepts,' Englund thinks. This year, the spending is the real thing.
The spending increase may be driven by these leaders' general enthusiasm for AI, which has attracted billions in investment capital and is already reshaping the landscape with the massive data centers needed to power it. EY found 81% were optimistic about the tech's potential to help their company reach its goals in the next year. And nearly six in 10 survey respondents said they believed their organisation was ahead of competitors in AI investment. EY notes that this may signal a 'clear shift' toward prioritising AI in long-term business planning. Again, this level of executive buy-in is beyond mere 'keeping up with the Joneses' investment levels, which would try to ensure their company isn't left behind the leading edge of the newest technology craze.
The positive sentiment from tech executives certainly runs counter to recent research –including data from tech giant Lenovo, which suggested the one thing keeping companies from maximising the potential benefits from AI tech deployments was hesitancy from company leadership. Fully 55% of IT leaders surveyed by Lenovo said a 'lack of vision' on digital workplace transformation is on their lists of the top three obstacles preventing access to greater AI benefits.
It's understandable from a C-suite perspective – this transformation is essentially a total reimagining of many workplace norms, which the experts say is needed if AI is to really bring a return on investments.
Englund also partly addressed this issue, noting that 'The prevailing mindset among executives is that agentic AI will be a positive-sum scenario in which productivity will drive net-new growth,' he said. 'Certainly, they expect efficiencies in existing work processes,' adding that 'agentic AI will likely create entirely new workflows in an enterprise.' This may even include replacing, reskilling, or repositioning the leadership team itself, of course.
Lastly, reskilling and upskilling of workers has been something other reports suggest will be necessary as AI hits the workplace. EY's data shows tech leaders are conscious of this issue. Seventy percent of those surveyed were 'focusing on upskilling,' while 68% were 'hiring AI-skilled talent.' More positively, only 9% were planning on layoffs in the next six months, implying, perhaps, that AI isn't outright replacing many workers yet.
Why should you care about this?
For one main reason: If tech leaders are leading the AI charge, other companies in other sectors will follow in their wake once the benefits of AI tech are proven. EY's report contains such a positive vibe about AI that it stands out against other more dystopian AI reporting, and counters data showing about half of US workers worry they'll lose their job to AI. – Inc./Tribune News Service