Welcome to the agentic era: AI that acts, not just assists
The agentic era is here, and it’s reshaping enterprise transformation. At Google Cloud Next 2025, as a Google Cloud partner our theme focused on welcoming the agentic era – but the message was clear: intelligent agents that anticipate, adapt, and accelerate outcomes are no longer a future vision but a present reality, unfolding faster than expected.
“One of the key takeaways is the realization that the agentic era has already arrived and the excitement in all our clients and enterprises that how they can use this innovation in real life creating business value.”
Anirban Bose, CEO of Americas SBU, Capgemini
What is the agentic era?
The agentic era signals a major evolution in AI – from reactive tools to proactive, autonomous agents that understand, anticipate, and act. This shift enables faster decisions through real-time data, deeper personalization by grasping user intent, and scalable innovation as agents continuously learn and adapt.
Unlike traditional AI systems that rely on predefined rules or reactive prompts, agentic AI systems operate with autonomy, learning from context and evolving over time. These agents are capable of initiating actions, collaborating with other agents or humans, and adapting to dynamic environments – making them ideal for enterprise-scale transformation.
Jennifer Marchand, our Google Cloud COE Leader at Capgemini, explored this topic at Google Cloud Next:
An assistant for everything
Jennifer Marchand explores the future of agentic AI.
Designing effective AI agents: The four pillars
Successful deployment of AI agents depends on thoughtful design. Our latest agentic AI CRI report identifies four foundational pillars:
- Role: Define the agent’s purpose and scope.
- Data: Ensure access to relevant, real-time information.
- Actions: Specify what the agent can do (e.g., trigger workflows, call APIs).
- Guardrails: Set boundaries to ensure safe and ethical operation.
These pillars help organizations build agents that are not only intelligent but also aligned with business goals and governance standards.
Despite growing adoption, only 27% of organizations currently trust fully autonomous AI agents, down from 43% a year ago. This reflects a maturing understanding of the risks and limitations of agentic systems.
Google Cloud’s role in accelerating the agentic era
Google Cloud is not just enabling this transformation – it’s leading it. With a suite of purpose-built tools and platforms, Google is helping enterprises move from experimentation to enterprise-grade deployment. And we’re proud to be a Google Cloud partner, empowering our clients to fully embrace Google Cloud technology.
Gartner predicts that by 2028, 33% of enterprise software applications will include agentic AI capabilities – up from less than 1% in 2024. This signals a rapid mainstreaming of agentic functionality across business platforms.
Key Google Cloud innovations include:
- Vertex AI Agent Builder: Build once, deploy everywhere. This tool empowers teams to create intelligent agents that can operate across customer touchpoints and internal workflows.
- Agentspace: Designed for enterprise productivity, it enables seamless collaboration between human teams and AI agents.
- Data Agents: These agents allow users to explore and interact with data conversationally – turning complex datasets into actionable insights.
Each of these tools contributes to the agentic foundation: Vertex AI Agent Builder enables the creation of agents that learn and evolve; Agentspace fosters human-AI collaboration; and Data Agents empower decision-making by transforming data into contextualised, actionable insights
Real-world impact
The agentic paradigm is not just theoretical (or fictional), it’s already reshaping how enterprises operate. From customer service to supply chain optimization, agentic AI is enabling systems that think, decide, and act with minimal human intervention.
At Google Cloud Next, we showcased agentic AI solutions which are already driving tangible business value for our clients. This included:
KAI (Kinetic AI) enhances driver experiences by connecting vehicles with smart devices and monitoring driver health, sending alerts to emergency services when needed.
Business for Planet Modelling (BfPM) with Google Cloud, our climate intelligence solution co-developed with Google Cloud, empowers financial services firms to accelerate their net-zero transition. By embedding advanced analytics and AI into existing systems, it delivers granular climate risk insights – enhancing forecasting accuracy, reducing exposure, and unlocking sustainable returns.
The agentic approach is already delivering tangible value
- Customer experience
Agents are transforming service delivery with faster, more intuitive interactions. Gartner forecasts that by 2029, agentic AI will autonomously resolve 80% of common customer service issues, potentially reducing operational costs by 30%. This underscores the transformative potential of agentic systems in high-volume service environments. - Enterprise productivity
Internal teams are using agents to streamline operations, reduce manual effort, and focus on strategic work. According to our latest AI agents CRI report, while most AI agents currently operate at lower levels of autonomy, 25% of business processes are expected to reach semi- or fully autonomous levels by 2028, up from 15% today. - Data intelligence
Businesses are unlocking new insights by engaging with data through natural language and agent-driven exploration.
And the adoption curve is steep. According to Capgemini Research Institute, 30% of early adopter organizations have already integrated AI agents into their operations, and agentic AI projects are expected to grow by 48% by the end of 2025. This surge reflects a broader shift from experimentation to enterprise-grade deployment, with businesses reporting an average 1.7x return on AI investments.