Agentic AI Is Tech’s Next Big Power Play

Autonomous Ambitions Go Mainstream

A new study from Cognition Labs and system auditing firm MLCommons reveals that major tech players are racing to deploy agentic AI—systems that can operate independently to achieve goals, make decisions, and take actions without constant human intervention. The research, based on surveys conducted with top AI professionals across 18 companies, found that 94% of organizations are already developing or testing agentic systems. The intense momentum is largely fueled by the belief that agentic AI will yield substantial productivity and economic benefits. The report also notes that tech leaders foresee agentic AI fundamentally transforming how software is built and used—moving from tools that assist humans to agents capable of taking initiative and delegating tasks themselves.

Promise Meets Pressure and Peril

Despite the surge in interest, the adoption of agentic AI remains fraught with both technical and organizational challenges. The study highlights concerns about system performance, unpredictability, and lack of standards. More than 70% of respondents expressed doubts about their organization’s readiness to deploy these systems safely at scale. There is also rising anxiety around ethical and legal implications, especially as agentic AI systems begin to make decisions with real-world consequences. Companies are testing these tools internally before wider rollout, with analysts warning that the current ecosystem lacks robust benchmarks or guardrails. Still, for many tech leaders, the opportunity to drive efficiency and innovation outweighs the short-term risks.