Australian firms embrace Agentic AI to boost productivity

Over half of Australian organisations have adopted Agentic AI technology, according to a new survey by PagerDuty.

Productivity in Australia has reached a concerning low, standing at merely 0.9% in 2023, down from the previous year's 1.2%. Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers voiced that, "no more important structural problem in our economy than productivity," signifying a timely increase in Agentic AI implementation could be crucial in addressing this issue.

The PagerDuty Agentic AI Survey, conducted by Wakefield Research, presents that 60% of Australian firms have already integrated AI agents within their operations. An additional 11% are planning to follow suit within the next year.

The survey reveals that 44% of business leaders anticipate a greater overall impact from Agentic AI compared to Generative AI (GenAI). Moreover, it is projected by 52% of companies that Agentic AI will automate or accelerate 26% to 50% of their workloads. This level of integration is expected to bring forth significant operational efficiencies.

Budget allocations towards AI highlight serious financial commitment, with 86% of respondents planning to invest over USD$1 million in AI, and 70% specifically earmarking this amount for Agentic AI, according to the survey.

Expectations for return on investment are optimistic, as 62% of companies foresee a return of over 100% from Agentic AI, with an average expected return of 171%.

Eric Johnson, Chief Information Officer at PagerDuty, emphasised the expected benefits of AI investments: "Leaders need to provide tangible, quantifiable benefits from their AI deployments if they want to justify the investment.

"PagerDuty's latest survey data illustrates how strongly organisations believe agentic AI will help unlock real value from AI and automation, as 62% of survey respondents anticipate triple-digit ROI," Johnson says.

"Companies that successfully integrate agentic AI into their operations can expect increased efficiency gains by automating complexity and accelerating decision-making," he says.

Acording to the company, Agentic AI is set to surpass GenAI in terms of speed of adoption, with 94% of surveyed organisations expressing they will adopt it more rapidly than GenAI. 55% of respondents strongly agree that Agentic AI will be integrated across their organisations at a faster pace.

Training for Agentic AI implementation indicates a proactive approach, as every company surveyed has varied plans for training initiatives, PagerDuty says. The survey showed some 61% prioritise organisation-wide seminars or structured training programs, while 56% will provide external courses. Additionally, 52% plan to host formal internal mentorship programs and specific office hours.