Australian companies aim to increase investment in agentic AI to USD $12.3 billion.
Over 90% of Australian organisations are either using or planning to adopt agentic artificial intelligence (AI) within the next six months, as revealed by new research from IDC, sponsored by UiPath. The IDC InfoBrief, titled “Agentic Automation: Unlocking Seamless Orchestration for the Modern Enterprise,” indicates that 41% of organisations are already deploying agentic AI, while an additional 50% are looking to implement it soon. The report highlights a strong investment appetite, with 47% of organisations having established spending plans for agentic AI. Furthermore, 78% of respondents expressed a willingness to pay a premium of up to 50% to unlock the potential value of this technology across their operations. C-suite leaders in Australia are setting ambitious benchmarks, aiming for a threefold return on investment from agentic AI deployment, signalling a shift from isolated AI experimentation to broad, enterprise-level automation.
Key motivations for adopting agentic AI include enhanced productivity and efficiency, as organisations strive to automate manual processes and upskill their workforce. The IDC InfoBrief underscores that AI agents are facilitating a redesign of work execution and coordination across teams and systems. Reported organisational benefits include improved customer experience, competitive positioning, and risk management. Notably, 69% of organisations cited productivity improvements as a key outcome of agentic AI adoption, while 68% reported an increased ability to tackle complex tasks, and 58% identified superior decision-making capabilities. These impacts are evident across various sectors, including retail, wholesale, financial services, and healthcare. However, as adoption increases, organisations are also scrutinising the associated risks, such as potential misuse by malicious actors, unintended system-user interactions, and data privacy breaches. Significant implementation barriers include data security concerns, integration with existing systems, and ambiguity regarding the appropriate application of agentic AI. The report emphasises the need to address these risks to foster greater trust in agentic AI systems and align their implementation with broader digital transformation objectives. Despite these challenges, Australian organisations are preparing to scale their use of agentic AI, moving beyond initial pilot projects.
Categories: Adoption Trends, Investment and Expectations, Risks and Challenges
Tags: Agentic AI, Australian Organisations, Automation, Investment, Productivity, Efficiency, Customer Experience, Risk Management, Data Security, Digital Transformation