A new global annual study, published by MIT Sloan Management Review and Boston Consulting Group (BCG), highlights how this technology is blurring the line between a tool and a collaborator within an organization.
The report, titled "The Emerging Agentic Enterprise: How Leaders Must Navigate a New Age of AI," is based on a survey of over two thousand executives from 21 industries and 116 countries, revealing that 35% of companies are already exploring the use of these systems, with an additional 44% planning to implement them in the near future.
The AI Agent: From Tool to Colleague Unlike previous technologies, agentic AI systems are behaving more and more like autonomous team members. Furthermore, a 250% increase in decision-making authority by AI systems is expected over the next three years.
Impact on Talent and Job Satisfaction: Leaders in agentic AI adoption expect a greater willingness to hire generalist profiles (43%), a reduction in middle management levels (45%), and fewer entry-level positions (29%). This perception underscores the autonomy and capability of these systems to execute complex processes and adapt on the fly.
Despite the rapid adoption, the study indicates that few organizations have restructured their workflows, governance models, investment planning, or talent strategies to align with this unprecedented pace.
A central finding of the study is that 76% of executives surveyed consider AI agents more as colleagues than as a simple tool.
Competitive Advantage: 73% of leaders using agentic AI foresee that its use will strengthen the organization's ability to differentiate itself, in contrast to 53% of those that have not yet adopted it.
Another relevant contribution of the study suggests that AI agents should be considered as assets that learn and gain value with use. Montón also pointed out the importance of establishing solid training foundations in the region to integrate human judgment with the autonomy of these systems.
Strategic and Organizational Implications The MIT SMR and BCG report details several key conclusions about the impact of agentic AI on business structure and strategy:
Change in Operational and Governance Models: 66% of organizations leading in agentic AI adoption expect changes in their operational models, compared to 42% of those that are just beginning. The implementation of agentic AI is surpassing the adoption speed of generative AI, with 35% of companies already using them, forcing a rethink of governance models and talent strategies.
The dual nature of agentic AI—functioning both as a tool and as a collaborator—presents a management challenge that requires simultaneous approaches from human resources and asset management techniques.
BCG Partner and BCG X Lead for the region, Gonzalo Montón, highlighted that leading organizations in Latin America, especially in the financial sector, are beginning to explore how these agents can transform their processes and the structure of responsibilities.
This implies that companies must rethink their investment models, focusing not only on implementation but on developing capabilities that allow these systems to evolve and become a source of sustained differentiation.
The full publication of the study can be downloaded from the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) website.
