AI is on the brink of going from tool to teammate, according to new research from Capgemini, as firms race to integrate ‘autonomous collaborators’ within the next year, though most are severely underprepared to make the leap.

The latest Capgemini Research Institute report, Harnessing the Value of AI: Unlocking Scalable Advantage, found that six in ten organisations expect AI to be an active team member or supervisor to other AI in the next twelve months, a sharp rise from just 44% today.

AI agents could form the foundation of this strategic shift, with the last year seeing a steady rise in the deployment of AI agents as the technology gains momentum.

Capgemini found that most business functions are likely to have AI agents handling at least one business process in the near future, with 90% of executives in areas like product design, R&D, marketing, and sales optimistic about autonomous agents handling one or more business processes in their function by 2030.

These systems are becoming increasingly interconnected, with multi-agent processes likely to be the next major development in AI, according to the report.

Polling 1,100 executives from enterprise organisations scaling AI agents, Capgemini found that nearly 45% are also piloting or scaling multi-agent systems, with 38% believing AI agents will evolve into self-learning agents requiring minimal human supervision in the next 3-5 years.

But despite that rapid trajectory, the report found that 71% of firms still don’t fully trust autonomous AI agents for enterprise use. The report highlights that businesses are facing governance gaps, with only 46% having established robust policies for their AI systems, and even then, most seldom follow them to the letter.

With such basic elements of AI strategy either wilfully ignored or forgotten, it is unsurprising that most organisations are not prepared for dynamic human-AI collaboration.

Capgemini found that two-thirds of enterprises agreed they will need to restructure their teams to enhance human-AI collaborations, with most expecting their organisational structure to evolve to accommodate machines as co-workers.

Employees, however, may prove resistant to the idea, with recent research from Workday finding that although staff are willing to use AI agents, most draw the line at working for them.

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While that problem will come to a head, and no doubt soon, most enterprises are content with maxing out their AI investments in the meantime.

Capgemini’s study found that over the last year, almost nine in ten firms have increased their investment in genAI by an average of 9%, with 12% of IT budgets now dedicated to the technology. That trend is expected to continue, with 61% of organisations anticipating a further increase in genAI investments in the next twelve months.

“Enterprise adoption of AI is scaling faster than almost any technology we’ve seen before, with companies experimenting with AI across all functions. But rapid adoption doesn’t necessarily translate into large-scale deployment with tangible ROI,” said Franck Greverie, chief technology and portfolio officer at Capgemini. 

“To succeed, enterprises must set up a solid data foundation, in a trusted environment that’s compliant, secure and ensures necessary privacy. This, along with a new operating model with a balanced human-AI chemistry, can ensure winning business outcomes.”