Latest news with #agenticAI
Forbes
a day ago
- Business
- Forbes
The Rise Of Agentic AI—3 Big Barriers Enterprises Must Overcome
Key Barriers to Agentic AI Adoption getty In the race to stay competitive, agentic AI could be your smartest hire — yet many companies are still stuck at the starting line. As this next-generation AI enters mainstream enterprise operations, it promises not just automation, but autonomous collaboration, contextual reasoning and task orchestration. Still, businesses have been slow to adopt it. Why? Three challenges stand in the way: trust, training and technical integration. And if organizations fail to address these in time, the cost isn't just delay — it's disruption. More than half (55%) of enterprises cite trust-related concerns, such as data privacy (13%), reliability (13%) and accuracy (8%), as key barriers to deploying AI agents, according to a 2024 survey by Forum Ventures. Industry Example: IBM's Watson for Oncology was once hailed as a game-changer in healthcare, but its opaque decision-making and inconsistent recommendations eroded user trust, causing hospitals to scale back use. Risk of Inaction: Failing to build trust not only undermines adoption but also exposes companies to reputational and regulatory risks. In sensitive sectors like healthcare, finance and law, a breach of confidence can be costly, legally and operationally. How to Overcome the Barrier: Enterprises must prioritize data privacy, ethics and bias mitigation. Complying with standards like GDPR and CCPA is non-negotiable. Equally vital is transparency — embedding human oversight into high-stakes workflows and ensuring AI decisions can be explained and audited. Lucid's recent survey shows that 33% of workers believe ongoing training is the top hurdle to successfully implementing AI. Among entry-level employees, 41% reported feeling unprepared to use AI features, compared to just 10% of executives. The Marketing AI Institute found that 67% of marketers see lack of training as the primary obstacle to AI adoption. Industry Example: In Italy, only 8% of enterprises used AI tools in 2024. Why? Most cited digital illiteracy within their workforce as the core barrier, highlighting a widespread gap between potential and readiness. Risk of Inaction: Without training, AI agents risk becoming underused or misused, leading to low ROI, internal resistance and stagnation in innovation pipelines. How to Overcome the Barrier: AI agents aren't plug-and-play tools — they're adaptive systems. Enterprises must invest in dynamic training programs and customize models continuously to align with shifting goals. Monitoring performance and fine-tuning agents should be a standard operating procedure, not an afterthought. Bain & Company reports that 75% of organizations lack the in-house expertise to scale generative AI efforts. These hurdles are compounded by legacy systems and fragmented architectures. Industry Example: Banks are struggling to implement AI effectively due to outdated, fragmented data systems that prevent the consistent, accurate and timely data AI requires. Despite investing heavily in modernization, these legacy systems pose a major obstacle. Risk of Inaction: Fragmented infrastructure can delay deployment, inflate costs and bottleneck the flow of insights, rendering agentic AI ineffective or incomplete. How to Overcome the Barrier: Enterprises must embrace proactive risk management when integrating AI. This includes stress-testing systems, anticipating failure points and building fallback mechanisms. Particularly in early-stage deployments, constant output monitoring is essential to detect and mitigate unexpected behavior. By proactively addressing these barriers, enterprises can pave the way for the successful integration of agentic AI, unlocking its full potential to enhance efficiency and innovation.
Arab News
3 days ago
- Business
- Arab News
Leading the next wave of enterprise transformation
As the global technology landscape undergoes a seismic shift with the rise of agentic artificial intelligence, Saudi Arabia stands at a crossroads. The Accenture Technology Vision 2025 Report has highlighted how enterprises worldwide are embracing this new paradigm. Saudi Arabia is uniquely positioned to leverage these advancements to accelerate its ambitious Vision 2030 goals. The Kingdom is investing heavily in AI and automation to boost productivity. In March 2024, the government announced the creation of a $40 billion fund dedicated to AI investments, aiming to optimize operations, reduce waste and enhance decision-making. According to Accenture's proprietary insights, generative AI has the potential to elevate KSA's gross domestic product by approximately $42.3 billion. At an aggregate level, it will augment and automate nearly a third of all jobs, with highly skilled roles witnessing a radical transformation in terms of productivity, agility and collaboration. And the country is only just getting started. The transition from traditional AI to agentic systems represents more than an incremental upgrade — it's a fundamental reimagining of how technology can serve business objectives. Agentic AI is characterized by its ability to autonomously perform complex tasks with minimal human supervision, creating new possibilities for Saudi enterprises. Currently one in three companies is pivoting towards innovating with agentic AI and those who embrace this shift swiftly stand to secure a competitive edge. In the Kingdom's rapidly diversifying economy, the integration of these systems isn't merely a luxury but a competitive necessity. For instance, oil giant Saudi Aramco has already begun deploying agentic AI solutions to optimize extraction processes, predict equipment failures and manage complex supply chains with unprecedented efficiency. Early implementations have demonstrated cost reductions of up to 30 percent in maintenance operations while simultaneously improving safety metrics. Agentic systems and composable digital cores are radically transforming the way we interact with technology and what users expect from it — introducing new considerations. A majority (88 percent) of executives in Saudi Arabia worry large language models and chatbots could give every brand a similar voice. However, 94 percent agree brands can solve this challenge by proactively building personified AI experiences and injecting distinct brand elements, such as culture, values and voice. The transition from traditional AI to agentic systems represents more than an incremental upgrade — it's a fundamental reimagining of how technology can serve business objectives. Omar Boulos Enterprises in Saudi Arabia are already taking steps to fine-tune AI in this way, like the Saudi National Bank, which is utilizing AI augmented functionality to develop innovative financial products tailored to Saudi Arabia's unique market dynamics. These systems analyze vast datasets of consumer behavior, religious considerations for Shariah-compliant finance, and global market trends to identify underserved niches and design appropriate solutions. The Saudi healthcare sector, too, is witnessing transformation through AI augmentation. Physicians at King Faisal Specialist Hospital are now working alongside AI systems that not only manage administrative burdens but actively contribute to diagnostic processes, treatment planning and medical research — all while respecting the cultural sensitivities particular to healthcare delivery in the Kingdom. Interestingly, 86 percent of executives in Saudi Arabia believe that robots collaborating with people and continuously learning from those interactions will increase trust and teamwork between people and robots. This may pave the way for robotic surgical assistants for simple procedures. For Saudi enterprises, the strategic implementation of agentic AI represents a potential leapfrog opportunity. Rather than incrementally improving upon legacy systems, forward-thinking organizations are rebuilding their operating models around AI capabilities from the ground up. The path to AI-powered transformation is not without obstacles. As the Accenture report highlights, organizations worldwide are grappling with questions of ethical AI deployment, and Saudi enterprises face these same challenges with additional considerations around cultural compatibility. The Kingdom has responded proactively, with the Saudi Data and AI Authority developing comprehensive frameworks for responsible AI usage that balance innovation with ethical considerations. These guidelines are helping enterprises navigate the complex terrain of AI implementation while maintaining alignment with Saudi Arabia's unique cultural context. Equally critical is the development of human capital to work alongside these new systems. The Kingdom's substantial investments in technology education through initiatives like the Saudi Digital Academy are creating a new generation of professionals equipped to collaborate with AI systems, not merely operate them. A key priority (81 percent) for leaders in Saudi Arabia, almost on par with the global average (80 percent) is ensuring a positive relationship trajectory between people and AI so it is not derailed by fears of automation, starting with communicating the strategy and bringing employees into the process. Creating a learning loop where AI and humans can collaborate to reimagine business capabilities will go a long way in scripting the next chapter in Saudi Arabia's story of transformation. • Omar Boulos is Accenture's CEO in the Middle East
TechCrunch
5 days ago
- Business
- TechCrunch
How startups win with agentic AI, Tkxel Umair Javed at Sessions: AI
TechCrunch Sessions: AI takes over UC Berkeley's Zellerbach Hall in just one week — join us June 5 for a full day of networking, learning sessions, satellite events, and more. And we're adding another excellent speaker to our already-packed lineup: Tkxel Founder and CEO Umair Javed, who will be exploring the potency and potential for agentic AI to help small businesses. Getting a seat at the forefront of the AI industry has never been easier. For a limited time, save up to $300 on your pass — and get 50% off a second guest ticket. Register now before these special deals disappear when the doors open on June 5. How to build a small business roadmap, empowered by AI In his breakout session, Javed will dive into the real opportunity behind agentic AI. Yes, there's plenty of hype — but for good reason. As he'll explain, agentic AI enables more proactive decision-making and faster, more efficient responses to customer concerns, business opportunities, and operational challenges. For small businesses with limited resources, agentic AI offers significant benefits. In his session, Javed will outline how it's already being scoped, validated, and implemented — giving you a blueprint to deploy it within your own business or those you support or fund. What Javed brings to the table Tkxel helps small businesses, startups, and enterprise organizations harness AI to scale. They've already partnered with high-profile clients like Barclays, Honeywell, NBC Universal, and — all with a hands-on approach championed by Javed, who brings that same focus to building teams and culture within Tkxel itself. Everything else that's in store at TC Sessions: AI That's exactly the mindset we're bringing to TC Sessions: AI. While the field is full of bold predictions, we're focused on practical solutions and real use cases — the kind that can drive immediate business impact or inspire your next big idea. With tickets currently up to $300 off, there's no better time to block your calendar, grab a ticket (or two!), and head to Berkeley for one of the year's most exciting AI events. Lock in your low ticket rates before they spike at the door on June 5.
Finextra
5 days ago
- Business
- Finextra
Lloyds appoints head of agentic AI
Lloyds Banking Group is building on its AI strategy with the appointment of Aritra Chakravarty from as head of agentic AI. 0 Chakravarty's arrival follows the recent appointments of Magdalena Lis as head of 'responsible' AI and former AWS executive Dr Rohit Dhawan as director of AI and advanced analytics. Most recently, Chakravarty has been driving GenAI and LLM-powered automation at reshaping advisory, compliance, and operational models for financial institutions. He previously founded and led Project Imagine, an FCA-regulated fintech, and held global digital product leadership roles at HSBC, across FX, structured products, robo-advisory, and brokerage services. In his new role, Chakravarty will lead the development of agentic AI capabilities across Lloyds Banking Group leading on autonomous, goal-driven systems designed to imrpove decision-making, operational agility, and customer experience across the Group. Charkravarty will report to Rohit Dhawan, who says: "Aritra brings a rare blend of entrepreneurial vision, technical depth, and financial acumen. His appointment underscores our commitment to developing AI systems that not only drive innovation but also enhance the everyday experiences of our customers and clients. His ability to bridge deep-tech advancements with practical, customer-centric solutions will be instrumental in shaping the future of AI at Lloyds Banking Group."
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Agentic AI Poised to Handle 68% of Customer Service and Support Interactions by 2028
New Cisco Research Reveals Overwhelming Demand for Agentic AI to Transform the Way Technology Vendors Deliver Customer Experience News Summary: The rise of agentic AI: By 2026, 68% of all customer service and support interactions with technology vendors are expected to be handled by agentic AI. Customer experience becomes mission-critical: With growing IT complexity, 92% of organizations say the support and services they receive are more important than ever. Transformational benefits of AI: A striking 93% of respondents predict that agentic AI will enable more personalized, proactive, and predictive services. The power of human connection: Despite AI's rise, 89% of customers emphasize the need to combine human connection with AI efficiency to optimize experiences. SAN JOSE, Calif., May 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) today announced the findings of its latest global research report, "The Race to an Agentic Future: How Agentic AI Will Transform Customer Experience," highlighting the potential of agentic AI to revolutionize the way technology vendors deliver services and support to customers. In the survey of 7,950 global business and technical decision-makers across 30 countries, respondents predict that agentic AI will play an increasingly prominent role in their interactions with technology vendors over the coming years and are positive about the benefits it will bring. 88% report they feel confident that the agentic AI-led customer experience provided by technology partners will help their organization achieve its goals – for example, making their IT environments and operations more efficient, resilient and secure, accelerating their most important strategic IT projects, and maximizing value from their IT investments. Respondents also expect the pivot to agentic AI-led customer experience (including technical support, customer success and professional services) to advance at a far greater velocity than the industry anticipated. They predict that 68% of their customer experience interactions with technology partners will be handled using agentic AI within the next three years. And, surprisingly, they expect more than half (56%) of interactions to be through agentic AI within the next 12 months, representing a significant increase and heaping pressure onto those vendors who are still only in the early stages of thinking about agentic. Liz Centoni, EVP & Chief Customer Experience Officer, Cisco, commented: "With agentic AI reaching a new level of maturity, we're closer than ever to solving some of the most persistent customer pain points in enterprise environments. For instance, a significant share of network issues stem from misconfiguration, something agentic systems are poised to eliminate. That shift will lead to smarter networks, stronger security, and more productive teams. As an industry, we've been talking about these concepts for decades, and while we've made incremental progress, AI - and especially agentic AI - is making that vision a reality. "We are drawing on four decades of data, our deep industry knowledge, and the trust of our customers to re-imagine Cisco Customer Experience as an agentic-led function. Our vision is to make every customer interaction with Cisco personalized, proactive, and predictive, and to make every customer feel like they are our only customer. And while we're making meaningful progress, this new research makes one thing clear: we have to move faster." In recent years, in response to growing IT complexity, technology businesses have introduced automation into their workflows and layered in AI to streamline support and services. This approach has still required human intervention to stitch processes together – to monitor, decide, act and adapt. Agentic AI negates the need for this level of human intervention. Agentic AI is a category of artificial intelligence that leverages AI Agents and a contextualized interconnection among them. Agentic AI requires agency, meaning the AI Agents are capable of having memory, are task aware and possess the ability to independently take actions – or choose what actions to take or recommend – to achieve a particular outcome through the ability to learn from their environment and reason, with minimal human oversight. This frees up customer experience professionals to focus on complex problem-solving, humans-on-the-loop feedback process for specific use-cases (where humans, for example, provide feedback to an AI system to improve its performance and focus on accurate and safe results), and building deeper, trusted relationships with customers. The research highlights the urgent need for technology vendors, many of whom are still only exploring the potential for agentic AI deployment within customer experience, to accelerate their strategies. Respondents are clear that they believe vendors who are left behind or fail to deploy agentic AI in an effective, secure and ethical manner, will suffer a deterioration in customer relationships, reputational damage and higher levels of customer churn. Meanwhile, the research highlights that respondents feel that vendors who embrace this transformation head-on, seamlessly and ethically deploying agentic AI across the technology lifecycle, will benefit from data-driven insights, improved scalability within their support and services, and loyalty at scale. Customer experience will become a strategic differentiator, with 81% of respondents predicting that vendors that successfully deliver agentic AI-led customer experience will gain a competitive edge. Key Findings Accelerated demand for customer experience: As levels of IT complexity increase, organizations are leaning on technology vendors more than ever before. 92% of respondents state that the support and services provided by vendors are becoming more critical in the AI era. Use cases across the technology lifecycle: more than 80% of respondents point to potential benefits of agentic AI-led customer experience at every stage of the technology lifecycle, with customer and technical support, technology strategy and planning, and operations viewed as the greatest opportunities. Game-changing benefits: customers expect agentic AI to drive improvements in IT productivity, time savings, and cost savings, as well as opportunities to improve data analytics, troubleshooting, and alignment of technology investment with digital transformation goals. Human connection is irreplaceable: customers want to retain human interaction when engaging with support and services, with 96% stating that human relationships are very important when interacting with B2B technology partners. Robust governance is non-negotiable: 99% of respondents state that it's important for technology partners to demonstrate robust governance arrangements to deliver ethical use of agentic AI, and 81% feel that vendors need to share their vision for AI-led customer experience to bring customers along on the journey. You can read the full report here: The Race to an Agentic Future: How Agentic AI Will Transform Customer Resources Research Report Executive Blog Digital Newsroom About Cisco Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide technology leader that is revolutionizing the way organizations connect and protect in the AI era. For more than 40 years, Cisco has securely connected the world. With its industry leading AI-powered solutions and services, Cisco enables its customers, partners and communities to unlock innovation, enhance productivity and strengthen digital resilience. With purpose at its core, Cisco remains committed to creating a more connected and inclusive future for all. Discover more on The Newsroom and follow us on X at @Cisco. Cisco and the Cisco logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cisco and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. A listing of Cisco's trademarks can be found at Third-party trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word 'partner' does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company. View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Cisco Systems, Inc. Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data
