Agentic AI Impact Across Industries
Source: cio.com
Agentic AI's Growing Influence
Agent-based AI is quickly becoming a leading technology in IT. Gartner has recognized it as steadily advancing toward inflated expectations, estimating it could take five to ten years to reach peak productivity. IDC supports this view, noting that while AI assistants dominate now, autonomous agents will likely prevail in the future. IDC anticipates AI agents replacing entire applications by the next decade, negating the need for CRM software in favor of CRM agents.
Interest among IT leaders is strong, with a Microsoft report indicating that 82% plan to use agents as digital team members to increase workforce capacity within 12 to 18 months. Microsoft foresees the emergence of a new role: the agent manager. Despite widespread belief in agent-based AI's importance, current development remains in its early stages.
According to a Globant study, the finance, retail, and healthcare sectors are already experiencing agentic AI's initial impact. Gonzalo Goñi from Salesforce notes the rapid adoption of agents, with organizations moving from experimentation to integrating them structurally.
Retail Industry Applications
Goñi observes that while demand for AI agents is growing across sectors, the retail industry is seeing the most dynamic activity, particularly in optimizing customer experience and logistics. Fernando Herranz of Leroy Merlin Spain anticipates a progressive integration of agentic AI with their omnichannel model, benefiting both customers and teams.
Herranz states that AI is facilitating a more personalized customer relationship through strategic vision and measurable applications. Leroy Merlin is exploring agentic AI in store automation, digital content generation, and personalized support both online and in physical stores. They are focusing on specific use cases with measurable impact, including a 24/7 virtual assistant and a Greeter AI pilot project for physical stores.
A key challenge for Leroy Merlin is integrating the technology with its omnichannel ecosystem for real-time, personalized operations. Herranz emphasizes the need for a robust technological infrastructure that ensures data protection and algorithmic transparency to maintain customer trust. He also envisions a significant expansion of the virtual assistant to handle incidents, after-sales functions, and customer support.
Carrefour Spain launched its ai.Carrefour project to digitally transform teams and improve customer service, according to CDO Francisco Escalona. Solutions include Super Agente Uno.ai, a virtual assistant designed to optimize operational processes from product management to store efficiency. It helps detect trends in healthy eating and enhance customer experience through data analytics. Escalona also highlights Carrefour’s ClubAI, a virtual assistant for their loyalty program, which analyzes customer preferences to provide personalized recommendations and content.
Carrefour’s AI Advisory Council demonstrates their commitment to this technology. Escalona and Herranz agree that agentic AI offers an opportunity to enhance talent by automating repetitive tasks, allowing teams to focus on creativity, innovation, and personalized customer service. Herranz aims to free teams from automatable tasks to focus on higher-value activities.
Financial Services and Healthcare
In financial services, companies are deploying agents to automate processes, improve customer service, and enhance fraud prevention. Nacho Torre of Ibercaja sees agent-based AI as an extension of generative AI. Ibercaja is in the early stages of agentic AI implementation, focusing on regulatory and operational aspects. They are identifying and classifying AI systems, assessing risks, and defining a governance model.
Torre states that this framework will include agents for simple, high-impact tasks, such as automatically downloading the legal interest rate from the Bank of Spain website. In the medium term, Ibercaja plans to develop multi-agent platforms for coordinating multiple tasks. Torre emphasizes the importance of security, privacy, and adaptability, advocating for flexible technological platforms that can quickly adapt to market changes without compromising security or governance. He also highlights the need for user-friendly technology geared toward specific, valuable use cases.
Salesforce’s Goñi believes autonomous agents have significant potential in healthcare, alleviating administrative burdens and improving patient access to information. Dr. Ramón Puchades notes that AI integration in healthcare is in its early stages. He emphasizes the need for studies to validate use cases and distinguishes three areas for agents and generative AI: clinical practice, research, and teaching. Puchades highlights AI agents’ value in supporting diagnosis, patient monitoring, and clinical progress. He adds its use in management tasks, to organize activities and establish patient flow.
Puchades reiterates that it is still at a very early stage. He stresses the importance of evidence and quality filters to ensure patient benefits without risks, because they are still tools and require validation.