Genpact and HFS Research: 92% of Executives Say Agentic AI Will Fundamentally Change Business Operations
Genpact (NYSE: G) and HFS Research report finds 92% of 545 senior executives expect agentic AI to fundamentally change work execution, while organizational readiness remains the main barrier.
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Rhea-AI Summary
Genpact (NYSE: G) and HFS Research report finds 92% of 545 senior executives expect agentic AI to fundamentally change work execution, while organizational readiness remains the main barrier. Investment in agentic AI is forecast to rise 38% next year, yet 33% cite unprepared processes and only 22% are comfortable granting broad autonomy.
The study highlights gaps in accountability, measurement, people, and process and recommends four actions to scale autonomous execution within ~17 months on average.
Positive
- 92% of executives expect agentic AI to change work execution
- Projected investment increase of 38% in the next year
- Average enterprise expects to scale agentic AI in 17 months
- Clear four-action framework: accountability, measurement, people, process
Negative
- Only 22% comfortable granting broad autonomy to AI agents
- Nearly 80% of systems run in supervised modes with human final approval
- 67% rely on outdated productivity metrics for autonomous outcomes
- 33% say unprepared business processes are the top adoption obstacle
Details
News Market Reaction – G
On Apr 29, the day this news came out, G closed 0.21% below the previous close.
Data tracked by StockTitan Argus for the Apr 29 session.
Key Figures
- Survey respondents
- 545 senior executives
- Cross-industry agentic AI study sample size
- Industries covered
- 11 industries
- Scope of agentic AI adoption survey
- Believe AI changes work
- 92% of respondents
- View that agentic AI will fundamentally change work execution
- Operate in supervised mode
- nearly 80% of organizations
- Keep humans as final approval over most AI actions
- Comfort with broad autonomy
- 22% of organizations
- Comfort granting AI agents broad autonomy
- Investment increase
- 38% projected rise
- Expected increase in agentic AI spending in next year
- Time to scale AI
- 17 months
- Average timeframe to scale agentic AI
- Process readiness barrier
- 33% of respondents
- Cite unprepared business processes as top obstacle
Previous AI Reports
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Partnership to embed AI-native web agents and Task API in architecture.
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Launch of agentic AI AP Suite for accounts payable automation.
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Research with AWS on AI adoption gaps in insurance and customer impact.
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Study on insurance customers’ willingness to embrace AI when value clear.
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Named Leader in NelsonHall 2025 NEAT for P&C analytics and AI.
24h Move is the share-price change in the day after each event; other market factors may also have contributed.
Key Terms
agentic ai technical
autonomous execution technical
ai agents technical
kpis financial
workflow orchestration technical
AI-generated analysis. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.
Investment in agentic AI is projected to rise
The research, based on a survey of 545 senior executives across 11 industries and interviews with leaders from Fortune 2000 companies, found that
"Enterprises have proven that generative AI can accelerate work; the next frontier is proving that agentic AI can take responsibility for executing it," said Ajay Vasal, Global Leader for Data & AI, Genpact. "This shift from assistive to autonomous AI is beyond a technology upgrade and requires a fundamental rethink of operating models. Success depends on how organizations redesign processes with accountability and decision rights built in, while properly equipping their people to ensure agentic AI operates as a true extension of human intent."
Key findings
The research points to four foundational elements determining whether agentic AI scales to autonomous execution or remains experimental:
- The trust and accountability gap: Only
22% of organizations are comfortable granting AI agents broad autonomy. The biggest barriers are not technical but center on regulatory exposure, reputational risk, lack of explainability, and unclear accountability. - Investment rising, metrics lagging: Enterprises expect to scale agentic AI within an average of 17 months, with spending projected to increase by
38% in the coming year. However,67% still rely on outdated productivity metrics that fail to capture the value of autonomous decision-making. - Flatter organizations, shifting skills gap:
44% of executives expect fewer management layers as agentic AI absorbs coordination work. At the same time, the top skills in demand today are shifting from building AI to operating alongside it – workflow orchestration and integration (42% ), data engineering (39% ), and monitoring and observability (36% ) – meaning structural redesign for autonomy is moving faster than human role design. - Process readiness is the leading barrier:
33% of respondents cite unprepared business processes as the top obstacle to agentic AI adoption, highlighting that workflow redesign – not technology – determines how far autonomy can scale.
Four critical actions for scaling autonomy
The report identifies four key actions to move beyond experimentation to enterprise-scale autonomous execution:
- Accountability: Defining who owns the agent's actions and failures.
- Measurement: Adopting agent-native KPIs that track outcomes such as autonomous workflow completion.
- People: Providing role clarity and defining new human oversight responsibilities.
- Process: Redesigning workflows to remove manual handoffs and sequential human approvals.
"Ambition for autonomy is outpacing the ability to govern it," said Phil Fersht, CEO and Chief Analyst, HFS Research. "The leaders in agentic AI won't be the fastest adopters, they'll be the ones who redesign accountability, measurement, and human oversight so autonomy scales with control and delivers compounding value."
For more information and to download the full report, visit https://www.genpact.com/insight/autonomy-requires-trust-in-ai.
About Genpact
Genpact (NYSE: G) is an agentic and advanced technology solutions company. We leverage process intelligence and artificial intelligence to deliver measurable outcomes. With a strong partner ecosystem and decades of client trust, we provide innovative solutions that transform how businesses run. Powered by a team with an active learning mindset and client centricity at its core, we deliver lasting value for the world's leading enterprises.
Get to know us at genpact.com and on LinkedIn, YouTube, X, and Facebook.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Geraldine Lim
Genpact Media Relations
+1-951-318-3494
geraldine.lim@genpact.com
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SOURCE Genpact
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