Agentic AI Arms Race Accelerates As 93% Plan Custom Systems
A new study has revealed the extent of corporate investment in agentic AI, with 93% of software executives planning to introduce custom AI agents within their organisations.
The research, conducted by OutSystems in collaboration with CIO Dive and KPMG, surveyed 550 global software executives between April and May 2025.
Nearly half of respondents (46%) reported their organisations are already integrating agentic AI into applications and workflows, while another 28% are actively piloting such solutions.
"The software development lifecycle is undergoing a significant transformation as organisations increase AI investments to maintain their competitive edge," says Woodson Martin, CEO of OutSystems.
Customer service is the focus
Customer support has emerged as the primary battleground for AI agent deployment, with 49% of organisations planning to adopt autonomous agents for handling inquiries and support tasks.
This focus on customer-facing applications reflects a broader drive to improve user experience whilst scaling support operations efficiently.
Other deployment areas lag significantly behind, with product development (38%), sales and marketing (32%), supply chain management (28%), human resources (24%) and finance and accounting (23%) receiving lower priority.
The disparity suggests organisations are taking a cautious approach, prioritising areas where AI agents can demonstrate immediate value with manageable risk.
A transformation in workforce
The agentic AI adoption is driving substantial workforce changes across the technology sector. Paul O'Sullivan, SVP of Solutions Engineering at Salesforce, says that agentic AI technologies (like his company's Agentforce solution) are opening up "a world of a limitless workforce".
More than two-thirds of respondents reported increased developer productivity and improved software quality through fewer bugs.
Additionally, 62% noted improved scalability of development efforts, whilst 60% pointed to enhanced testing and quality assurance efficiency.
"In a near future, AI agents acting as highly specialised teams will continuously monitor business needs, identify opportunities, and proactively refine software solutions," Woodson explains.
The majority of software executives (69%) anticipate AI will introduce new, specialised roles including oversight, governance, prompt engineering, agent architect, and agent orchestration positions.
More than three out of five respondents (63%) believe AI will require substantial upskilling or reskilling within existing development teams.
Which major companies are using agentic AI?
PepsiCo has become the first major food and beverage company to deploy Salesforce's Agentforce AI agents across its global operations.
The US$92bn company is implementing the agentic AI system to transform customer service and sales operations, moving beyond simple task automation to overhaul customer experiences entirely.
The deployment utilises Salesforce's Data Cloud to consolidate information from multiple sources, creating comprehensive customer profiles while the Consumer Goods Cloud provides real-time inventory data. This integration aims to optimise stocking decisions across PepsiCo's global vendor network and deliver targeted, automated campaigns.
"AI is reshaping our business in ways that were once unimaginable," says Ramon Laguarta, PepsiCo's Chairman and CEO.
Governance challenges come into focus
Despite the enthusiasm for AI agents, significant challenges are emerging around governance, security, and compliance.
More than 64% of software executives cite governance and security risks alongside concerns over the transparency and reliability of AI-generated decisions.
The rapid proliferation of AI tools has created fragmentation issues, with 44% of executives identifying increasing technical debt and AI sprawl as critical risks.
"A lot of organisations started with pilots a year ago or even prior to that, but now they're starting to see real efficiency gains in areas like code generation and application testing," says Michael Harper, Managing Director at KPMG.
Why are businesses so interested in agentic AI?
Primary motivations for AI adoption include improving customer experience (56%), automating routine development tasks (55%), expediting software development timelines (54%) and accelerating digital transformation (53%).
The research indicates organisations are moving beyond experimental phases towards production deployment of AI agents.
However, the emphasis on custom solutions suggests companies are prioritising competitive advantage over standardised approaches.
The findings signal a fundamental shift in how enterprises approach software development and business operations, with autonomous AI agents becoming central to organisational strategy rather than supplementary tools.
