AI Agents Transform IT and Business Operations

Artificial intelligence agents are set to fundamentally reshape business operations over the coming 12 to 24 months. A recent survey conducted by PwC indicates that three-quarters of respondents believe these AI agents will have a more significant impact on the workplace than the internet did. This transformative shift is already evident, with 88% of businesses anticipating increased budgets for AI-related initiatives within the next year due to the rise of agentic AI.

Furthermore, 79% of companies are actively adopting AI agents, and a substantial 66% are already reporting measurable value through enhanced productivity. Information technology organizations are at the forefront of this AI agent adoption. Over half, specifically 53% of PwC survey respondents, confirmed their IT and cybersecurity functions are utilizing this technology. This includes employing AI agents to accelerate software development cycles and to mitigate production errors.

The Rise of Agentic AI in IT Operations

AI agents are quickly becoming indispensable tools within the IT landscape, automating tasks previously handled manually. Rani Radhakrishnan, a principal at PwC, highlights how AI agents can take over repetitive work in IT operations. This automation allows human talent to be upskilled for higher-value activities, such as managing and monitoring AI agents, including safeguarding against “hallucinations” or erroneous outputs.

The current trajectory suggests a significant shift in how IT departments function. By offloading routine tasks, IT professionals can focus on strategic initiatives, innovation, and complex problem-solving. This not only boosts efficiency but also enhances job satisfaction by reducing the burden of monotonous duties. The scalability offered by AI agents means more work can be accomplished without necessarily increasing human headcount.

Strategic Implementation for Agentic AI

As AI agents increasingly integrate into IT workflows and other business areas, chief information officers are positioned to play a pivotal role. IT executives are uniquely qualified to lead the development of comprehensive agentic AI strategies, define the necessary architectural frameworks, and engage with key business stakeholders to manage AI agents as part of a broader workforce. Several key considerations are essential for CIOs navigating this new era of AI.

IT operations offer an ideal starting point for AI agent deployment due to the abundance of manual, time-consuming processes. Critical IT functions such as patching, cybersecurity updates, triaging support tickets, and software testing are ripe for automation. By leveraging AI agents for these mundane tasks, organizations can realize significant benefits relatively quickly. One retail company, in collaboration with PwC, successfully used AI agents to automate various aspects of its software development pipeline. This included requirements gathering, code generation, testing, and workflow orchestration. The resulting AI agent platform reduced software development cycle times by 60% and cut production errors in half, demonstrating a clear multiplier effect on efficiency.

Holistic Approach to AI Agent Integration

While individual bots can streamline personal or departmental tasks, the true potential of AI agents is realized through enterprise-wide implementation. A holistic and strategic approach is crucial for leveraging AI agents across workflows, departments, and personnel. Cenk Ozdemir, CIO Advisory Leader for PwC Consulting, emphasizes that this involves fundamentally rethinking how work is done, aiming for a different method with reduced labor hours. He notes that the new paradigm involves designing agents not just to resolve existing issues, but to proactively predict them, a concept previously unimaginable.

CIOs must serve as guides for IT architecture, determining the most effective strategies for agent deployment and identifying the right platforms for investment. Ozdemir advises CIOs to draw lessons from the adoption of robotic process automation, which faced limitations due to enterprise architecture complexities. It is imperative to consider the envisioned AI agent future when constructing AI architecture today to avoid similar bottlenecks. This foresight ensures that the foundational infrastructure can support scalable and integrated AI agent solutions.

Measuring Performance and Managing the Lifecycle

Developing new practices for measuring AI agent performance, evaluating their efficacy, and advancing their functionality is critical for CIOs. Collaborating with human resources executives can be invaluable in coordinating strategies to upskill and educate the workforce, as well as in defining approaches for human-AI agent interaction. Dan Priest, PwC’s chief AI officer, underscores that AI agents are an extension of human capabilities and, despite their autonomy, must operate within defined boundaries. Ultimate accountability, he stresses, remains with human operators.

Embracing robust lifecycle management practices is essential for effective AI agent development and deployment, helping to prevent siloed efforts. Agent frameworks, such as PwC’s Agent OS platform, can function as enterprise AI command centers. These platforms seamlessly integrate AI agents into adaptive, business-ready workflows up to ten times faster than conventional methods. Such platforms typically integrate with core enterprise systems, regardless of cloud provider or framework, and offer extensive libraries of pre-built AI agents with flexible customization options. Integrated risk management and oversight frameworks further support enhanced AI governance and compliance, ensuring that AI agent operations adhere to organizational standards and regulatory requirements.

The pervasive presence of AI agents is already a reality, and their disruptive potential is rapidly approaching. CIOs are uniquely positioned to spearhead this agentic revolution, beginning within IT operations and subsequently scaling its impact across the entire enterprise. By embracing strategic planning, robust architectural design, performance measurement, and comprehensive lifecycle management, organizations can unlock the full transformative power of AI agents.