Cisco presented further evidence agentic AI is set to take all sectors by storm, predicting it would be used in a majority of customer service and support dealings with technology vendors by 2028.
A survey of 7,950 specialists in businesses spanning 30 countries showed 68 per cent expect agentic AI to dominate customer service dealings with technology vendors and 88 per cent anticipate direct benefits to achieving targets in areas including IT and operational efficiency, resiliency and security.
Cisco stated its research indicates a faster pace of transition to agentic AI than previously anticipated: it predicts 56 per cent of customer interactions to be handled by the technology within the next 12 months.
Most respondents (93 per cent) expect agentic AI to improve personalisation, though 89 per cent believe the greatest benefits are to be yielded by combining the technology’s potential with actual people.
Cisco argued there is a growing need for agentic systems due to moves to incorporate AI into systems as part of automation moves intended to help businesses cope with growing IT complexity. It noted these systems still require humans to be involved in key aspects including monitoring and decision making, elements the next phase of the technology will require less of.
The company believes technology vendors must step-up early forays into agentic AI rollouts swiftly, or risk a deterioration in their customer experience.
Equally, respondents do not want this to come at the expense of ethics, with 99 per cent citing a need for solid governance.
In April, Juniper Research cited agentic AI as a significant factor in mobile operators’ push towards zero-touch operations, predicting a growing role in RANs to handle real-time optimisation.