A new survey has revealed that 51% of companies have deployed AI agents, with another 35% planning to do so within the next two years. According to a survey by PagerDuty, which gathered insights from 1,000 IT and business executives in the US, UK, Australia, and Japan, highlights the shift from generative AI (GenAI) to agentic AI for improved automation, operational efficiency, and business impact.
The report follows a surge in GenAI adoption. According to PagerDuty’s findings, businesses anticipate an even faster adoption rate for agentic AI, with 55% strongly agreeing to integrate it across their organisations at an accelerated pace.
“Leaders need to provide tangible, quantifiable benefits from their AI deployments if they want to justify the investment,” said PagerDuty chief information officer Eric Johnson. “PagerDuty’s latest survey data illustrates how strongly organisations believe agentic AI will help unlock real value from AI and automation, as 62% of survey respondents anticipate triple-digit ROI. Companies that successfully integrate agentic AI into their operations can expect increased efficiency gains by automating complexity and accelerating decision-making.”
Key survey findings and AI deployment trends
The PagerDuty study found that 63% of respondents have fully incorporated GenAI into their company. UK and Australia lead in this integration with 73% and 69% respectively, followed by the US at 64%. However, Japan lags behind with only 44% of companies fully integrating GenAI.
The survey also revealed that companies with complete GenAI implementation are more likely to have already deployed agentic AI. Furthermore, 62% of companies anticipate over 100% ROI from agentic AI, with an average expected return of 171% on their investment.
Around 52% of organisations expect that agentic AI will automate or accelerate between 26% and 50% of their workloads. However, businesses are split on whether agentic AI will cause a similar industry shift as GenAI. Around 44% expect agentic AI to be more transformative than GenAI, while 40% believe GenAI will have a greater influence.
Despite the increasing adoption of AI, 44% of business leaders cite rushed implementation without sufficient planning as a key challenge. Cost control (40%), improved employee training (37%), and stronger data infrastructure (37%) are also among the top priorities for refining AI strategies. Reflecting the commitment to long-term AI-driven transformation, 75% of organisations are investing $1m or more in AI initiatives.
Companies are also focusing on AI training to enhance workforce adoption. Among those surveyed, 61% plan to implement organisation-wide seminars or structured initiatives, 56% will provide external courses, and 52% intend to introduce internal mentorship and office hours to support AI integration.
In January 2025, another PagerDuty survey found that 53% of CIOs and CTOs viewed Agentic AI as essential to their future strategies. Of the 1,100 IT leaders surveyed, 88% said the technology would play a central or supporting role in their IT operations within one to two years.
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