Why enterprise leaders are betting on Agentic AI Leap

In today’s digital transformation era, artificial intelligence is no longer a futuristic vision but a power to the businesses. AI has transformed on how enterprises operate as AI-driven tools move from experimentation to execution. Although the AI systems are increasingly intelligent and efficient, most systems still have one key limitation: they wait to be told what to do. This makes it difficult for them to handle complex reasoning, maintain contextual awareness, or make autonomous decisions.

This has led the way for a new paradigm: Agentic AI, Agentic AI is gaining real adoption and traction across enterprises in India. Before we dive into why leaders are eager to embrace it, let’s see how a simple Agentic AI system works.

Imagine a customer support scenario where someone raises a complaint about a delayed refund. A regular chatbot will share the refund policy link or pass it to a human agent. Whereas an Agentic AI could handle the entire process from start to finish. It would review the refund policy, check the customer’s eligibility, initiate the refund, send a confirmation email, update internal records, and log the interaction to improve future automation. Instead of simply replying, the system gets the job done.

Why Agentic AI is becoming essential for enterprise leaders

Enterprises that fail to adopt agentic AI frameworks risk being outpaced by competitors who leverage AI-driven automation. According to a recent study by IDC and UiPath, Agentic Automation: Unlocking Seamless Orchestration for the Modern Enterprise, India is witnessing a rise in agentic AI adoption with spending expected to reach USD 10.4 billion by 2028.  

Currently, 40% of businesses have already implemented agentic AI, and top executives expect a three to four times ROI in the initial year. Besides, 56 percent intend to embrace technology in the next two years. 

Many organizations with fragmented systems struggle as workflows extend across disconnected applications and data silos, disrupting continuity. Manual handoffs slow processes and introduce errors. In multi-step workflows, critical information is often lost between departments, creating inefficiencies across the value chain. At the same time, companies face constant pressure to scale operations without increasing headcount. Agentic AI addresses these pain points by bringing coordinated, autonomous intelligence to every step at scale.  

What is in it for enterprises across industries? 

Agentic AI is widely impacting IT and operations. It can triage incidents, automate resolutions and manage the entire ticket lifecycle, helping teams move faster, reduce errors and improve efficiency. Beyond IT, finance teams have started using agentic AI for smarter risk assessments and claims processing. In healthcare, Agentic AI supports patient intake and follow-ups with minimal manual effort.

Retailers are applying it to manage orders and refunds more intelligently, while in the legal sector it assists with document review and compliance. Early adopters witnessing strong results. From enhancing customer experiences to optimizing internal operations, Agentic AI can handle time-consuming processes across diverse industries and improve efficiency.

From Apps to agents: A paradigm shift

The shift from traditional IT operations to agentic AI is not just a technological evolution -it is a strategic imperative for enterprises seeking to remain agile in a complex digital landscape. Instead of building apps for every task, businesses can deploy intelligent agents that autonomously orchestrate across systems, integrate deeply, and evolve based on outcomes.

While AI offers many advantages to businesses, it also brings challenges. The growing reliance on AI raises ethical questions around data privacy, transparency, and algorithmic bias. Organizations must implement robust governance frameworks to ensure customer data is handled responsibly, AI-driven decisions remain explainable, and biases are actively mitigated with human-in-the-loop.

Future is Agentic AI

As AI agents take center stage in enterprises, we are no longer just using smarter tools; we are gaining intelligent teammates. This marks a shift to a new operating model where agents not only speed tasks but also collaborate, adapt, and make decisions alongside us. Organizations that lead this transformation will define the next era of economic progress. The debate now is not whether companies must embrace agentic AI, but how quickly they can adapt to an AI-first world.

Sharmila Sherikar

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Sharmila Sherikar is the Head of Corporate Development & AI Initiatives at Sonata Software