TLDR: A recent report indicates that a vast majority (93%) of software executives are actively pursuing or planning the implementation of custom AI agents within their organizations. This significant shift is driven by the desire to enhance productivity, improve customer experience, and accelerate digital transformation, despite concerns around governance and the need for workforce upskilling.
A groundbreaking report, ‘Navigating Agentic AI & Generative AI in Software Development: Human-Agent Collaboration is Here,’ commissioned by OutSystems in collaboration with CIO Dive and KPMG, highlights a profound shift in the software industry. The study, which surveyed 550 global software executives, reveals that an overwhelming 93% are either planning to develop or are already developing custom AI agents within their organizations. This marks a clear industry-wide commitment to integrating agentic AI to revolutionize software development and broader business operations.
The adoption of custom AI agents is seen as a critical strategy to address various challenges, including fragmented toolsets and siloed data, while simultaneously boosting innovation and efficiency. Woodson Martin, CEO of OutSystems, emphasized this transformation, stating, ‘The software development lifecycle is undergoing a significant transformation as organizations increase AI investments to maintain their competitive edge. Blending AI with development tools enables IT leaders to manage this shift effectively and securely. In a near future, AI agents acting as highly specialized teams will continuously monitor business needs, identify opportunities, and proactively refine software solutions, allowing developers and business leaders to play a more creative role and focus on strategic priorities.’
The report details several measurable benefits already being realized by early adopters. Over two-thirds of respondents reported increased developer productivity and improved software quality with fewer bugs. Additionally, 62% noted enhanced scalability in development processes, and 60% observed greater efficiency in testing and quality assurance.
Key drivers for this accelerated AI adoption include improving customer experience (cited by 56% of executives), automating repetitive tasks (55%), accelerating software development (54%), and advancing broader digital transformation objectives (53%). The most anticipated area for AI agent deployment is customer support, with 49% of executives planning to utilize AI agents to autonomously manage customer inquiries and support functions.
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However, this rapid integration of AI agents is not without its challenges. The survey identified significant concerns among executives, with 64% citing risks related to governance, security, and compliance. An equal percentage expressed worries regarding the transparency and reliability of AI decisions. Furthermore, the workforce implications are substantial: 69% of software executives anticipate the creation of new specialized roles, such as oversight, governance, prompt engineering, agent architecture, and orchestration, to support AI’s evolving functions. A significant 63% also predict a need for substantial upskilling or reskilling of current teams to adapt to these emerging AI demands. The report projects that experimentation with agentic AI will continue to accelerate organizational change over the next 24 months, reshaping traditional roles and fostering new opportunities for human-technology collaboration.
