Agentic AI is gaining traction as advocates highlight the advantages of using autonomous AI agents to automate organizational tasks. In June, Forrester identified it as a top emerging technology for 2025, positioning it as an evolution beyond generative AI by focusing on operational decision-making rather than content creation. This approach promises significant impacts on business workflows, prompting organizations like Aflac, Atlantic Health System, Legendary Entertainment, and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory to explore its potential. Salesforce has orientated its strategy around agentic AI with the introduction of Agentforce, while IT service management giant ServiceNow has incorporated AI agents into its Now Platform. Microsoft and others are also entering the field. **Customer Support Automation** Traditionally, organizations have used simple chatbots and voice bots for basic customer service tasks. However, according to Glenn Nethercutt, CTO at Genesys, agentic AI will transform customer service automation into a more sophisticated service capable of handling complex inquiries. “I define agentic AI as the autonomous capability to perform reason-based, multistep tasks that are nondeterministic, ” Nethercutt explains. “It can manage complex and adaptive decision-making processes independently. ” These customer service AI agents will serve numerous industries including retail, financial services, and IT.

Unlike basic bots that answer a limited set of questions, AI agents can provide contextual responses to diverse customer requests. For example, a bank customer could instruct, “Transfer money from my account with the most funds to my checking account. ” A simple chatbot may struggle to identify “the account with the most funds, ” Nethercutt notes. “The essential concept is having a catalog of executable actions and an AI capable of intelligently navigating options with complex guardrails, ” he adds. **Enterprise Workflows** With ServiceNow, Salesforce, and others embracing agentic AI, experts suggest enterprise workflows will benefit significantly from streamlining processes by automating routine tasks. An AI agent might convert meeting notes into project tickets or initiate supplier orders based on demand-supply predictions, according to Monteiro. Companies using a major vendor’s IT tools across their operations could find themselves at an advantage over those that rely on a mix of solutions needing API integration, Monteiro indicates. Consolidating data to prevent silos will be crucial for enterprises. “For CIOs, the emerging question is, ‘Who will you trust to develop your context store, representing your enterprise's comprehensive knowledge?’” he remarks. “Consider all the understanding you possess about your enterprise. What if your LLM comprehensively knew how your enterprise operates?”