A New Era of «Agentic AI» is Dawning
A new report from the Capgemini Research Institute predicts this human-AI collaboration could unlock a staggering $450 billion in economic value by 2028 – if, and only if, trust becomes the foundation.
According to Capgemini’s latest findings, agentic AI – AI that can act autonomously and take on complex tasks – is rapidly gaining traction. Despite this momentum, fewer than 2 percent of organizations have managed to scale such systems, and public trust is faltering. In just one year, confidence in fully autonomous agents dropped from 43 percent to a mere 27 percent.
Yet the allure remains undeniable. Nearly all surveyed executives (93 percent) agree that scaling AI agents in the next 12 months could provide a major competitive edge. Still, half of these organizations admit they don’t even have a strategy in place to implement them.
Why Trust Will Determine the Winners
Capgemini’s report makes one thing clear: the road to $450 billion isn’t paved by code alone. Human involvement, transparency, and ethics are now vital pillars of success. While nearly 40% of executives still view AI risks as outweighing benefits, those already in the implementation phase report significantly higher levels of trust than those still exploring.
The message? Organizations must bake trust into the AI lifecycle—from design and deployment to everyday use. Transparency in how AI makes decisions and ensuring explainability will be essential to scale responsibly.
From Tools to Teammates
AI agents are no longer mere digital assistants – they're becoming co-workers. More than 60 percent of companies expect to form human-agent teams within the next year, and 70 percent anticipate restructuring their organizations to accommodate these changes. The payoff is big: companies forecast a 65% increase in human focus on high-value tasks and a 49 percent boost in employee satisfaction.
When humans and agents collaborate effectively, the benefits compound: higher engagement, more creativity, and faster execution. But this demands a shift in mindset—AI agents are not to be feared but managed, guided, and strategically empowered.
Clock’s Ticking
Capgemini estimates that organizations with scaled deployment of agentic AI will generate an average of $382 million in added value over the next three years, five times more than those still dabbling in pilots. Yet the vast majority of current applications remain in early stages, limited to customer service or IT support functions.
To fully capture the $450 billion opportunity, AI agents must evolve from copilots handling repetitive tasks to sophisticated systems managing operations, R&D, and marketing functions by 2028.
Readiness Is Lacking
Despite soaring ambition, most companies are ill-equipped for the leap. Only 20% report strong AI infrastructure, and fewer than one in five feel confident in their data readiness. Privacy, bias, and explainability remain unsolved ethical challenges. Alarmingly, only half of executives even understand what AI agents can actually do.
Capgemini warns that to unlock real value, organizations must move beyond hype and invest in strategic transformation—rethinking workflows, retraining teams, and anchoring AI in ethics.
Trust Builds Billion-Dollar Outcomes
Agentic AI holds immense potential, but only organizations that invest in trust, ethics, and human-centric design will reap the full rewards. The next three years will separate the pioneers from the procrastinators.
For those who act boldly and wisely the future won’t just be intelligent. It will be agentic, the report concludes.
