Unlocking the $450B agentic AI opportunity

The rise of agentic AI marks a new era in enterprise technology, promising to evolve AI from a simple tool into a genuine team member capable of managing and executing end-to-end processes with less human intervention. According to a new report by the Capgemini Research Institute, this technology is poised to generate up to US$450 billion in economic value by 2028 through a combination of revenue uplift and cost savings.

Despite this immense potential, a significant “trust paradox” is emerging. While adoption is on the rise, trust in these systems is declining, presenting a major barrier to widespread implementation.

The report, “Rise of agentic AI: How trust is the key to human-AI collaboration,” indicates a rapid pace of adoption. While only 2% of organizations have fully scaled agentic AI, 12% have implemented it at a partial scale, and another 23% are running pilots. The majority of leaders (93%) believe that successfully scaling agentic AI in the next 12 months will give them a competitive edge.

However, the report notes that most organizations are not yet equipped to scale this technology effectively. Key readiness gaps include:

• Immature Infrastructure: Over 80% of organizations lack a mature AI infrastructure.
• Data Readiness: Fewer than one in five organizations report high levels of data readiness.
• Knowledge Gaps: Only half of business leaders claim to have a sufficient understanding of AI agent capabilities.

While initial enthusiasm was high, trust in agentic AI is declining as organizations face the realities of implementation. The percentage of organizations that express trust in fully autonomous AI agents has dropped from 43% a year ago to just 27%. This erosion of trust is linked to a number of concerns:

• Ethical Concerns: Issues like data privacy, algorithmic bias, and the “AI black box” are prevalent, yet few organizations are taking decisive action to mitigate them.
• Job Displacement: Over half of organizations believe AI agents will displace more jobs than they create, and 61% report rising employee anxiety about their employment prospects.
• Limited Autonomy: Expectations for highly autonomous systems remain limited, with organizations expecting only 25% of business processes to be semi-autonomous or fully autonomous by 2028.

The report emphasizes that the most successful deployments of agentic AI occur when human involvement remains central. The Capgemini Research Institute found that almost three-quarters of executives believe the benefits of human oversight outweigh the associated costs. Moreover, 90% view human involvement in AI-driven workflows as either positive or cost-neutral. The goal is to see AI agents not as tools, but as members of a human-supervised team. This collaboration can lead to greater engagement in high-value tasks, increased creativity, and higher employee satisfaction.

To fully realize the potential of agentic AI, organizations must focus on:

• Redesigning Processes: Start with the process, not the technology, to effectively deploy AI agents and reimagine business models.
• Transforming the Workforce: Onboard this new “agentic workforce” by defining roles, providing reskilling, and striking the right balance between agent autonomy and human involvement.
• Strengthening Foundations: Reinforce data and technological foundations, and ensure AI agents operate within defined scopes of execution to earn trust and remain traceable and explainable.

To effectively capture the immense value of agentic AI, organizations must move beyond the hype and focus on strategic implementation. This means redesigning business processes, preparing the workforce through reskilling, and ensuring that the technology is built on a strong foundation of data, infrastructure, and ethical safeguards. By prioritizing a human-centered approach, businesses can navigate the trust paradox, accelerate adoption, and truly realize the transformative benefits of agentic AI.