The corporate world has moved decisively past the “experimentation” phase of artificial intelligence, according to a new study released today by CrewAI. The 2026 State of Agentic AI Survey Report, which polled 500 senior executives at large-scale enterprises, reveals a landscape where autonomous AI agents are no longer a future curiosity but a strategic production priority.
The report highlights a striking consensus among C-suite leaders: 100% of surveyed organizations plan to expand their adoption of agentic AI within the next year. This shift marks 2026 as the year the technology “sheds its training wheels,” moving from pilot projects to a critical business imperative for 74% of enterprises.
Integration Over Immediate Returns
In a departure from traditional software procurement cycles, the report finds that immediate return on investment (ROI) is currently a secondary concern for tech leaders. Instead, the primary drivers for platform evaluation are security and governance (34%) and ease of integration with existing data sources (30%).
“Time-to-value/ROI” was cited as a top factor by only 2% of respondents. Analysts suggest this reflects a mature understanding that without robust security and seamless connection to legacy systems, long-term ROI is unattainable.
Automation Metrics and Sector Impact
On average, large organizations have already automated 31% of their workflows using agentic AI. However, the distribution is uneven; 90% of firms still automate less than half of their processes, indicating significant room for the anticipated 33% expansion in adoption rates this year.
The benefits are most concentrated in technical and operational units:
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Information Technology: Cited by 52% of executives as the primary beneficiary.
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Operations: Benefiting 44% of organizations through back-office automation.
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Customer Service and Sales: Both reporting a 39% benefit rate.
While 75% of respondents report high impact on time savings, the effect on human capital is more nuanced. Only 55% report a high impact on replacing headcount, suggesting that, for now, agents are being used to augment efficiency rather than wholesale labor replacement.
The Build vs. Buy Debate
Enterprises are showing a marked preference for flexibility over proprietary “black box” solutions. Fifty-seven percent of firms prefer building on top of existing, often open-source, tools rather than creating solutions from scratch. This trend is particularly dominant in heavy industries like construction (73%) and financial services (71%).
Barriers to Scaling
Despite the universal intent to expand, the path to “agentic” scale is hampered by structural issues. The report identifies data readiness and integration challenges (35%) and insufficient in-house talent (33%) as the most significant hurdles. Notably, the lack of clear business use cases is cited by only 23% of respondents, suggesting that while the “why” is clear, the “how” remains the primary challenge for the modern CIO.
