Insights

Why businesses need AI agents

Skills Lab Team

22 January 2026

In 2026, the question is no longer whether organisations need AI agents, but why they are essential for sustained growth. As artificial intelligence shifts from hype to necessity, AI agents that can perceive, decide and act on behalf of humans are set to transform operational efficiency, elevate customer experiences and sharpen strategic decision-making.

Recent research shows that nearly 80% of organisations are already deploying AI agents, with 96% planning to scale their use in the year ahead.

Yet gaining a competitive edge with AI agents takes more than investing in advanced technology. It requires access to AI-ready talent capable of turning potential into measurable impact. While the AI revolution is well underway, the real barrier remains people: 94% of leaders report critical shortages in AI skills.

What is an AI Agent?

An AI agent is a software‑based system designed to perform specific tasks on behalf of a user or organisation. It can operate independently or collaboratively, utilising data, rules, and machine learning models to determine the actions to take.

What sets AI agents apart from basic chatbots or scripts is their ability to:

Understand context and intent

Retrieve and combine information from multiple sources

Make decisions within defined parameters

Interact with other systems through APIs

Learn and improve over time

AI agents are often built using modular architectures, allowing them to be extended or adapted as business needs evolve. This makes them particularly well‑suited to complex organisations where systems, data, and workflows are constantly evolving.

Why businesses need AI agents

Modern businesses operate in an environment defined by speed and complexity. Teams are expected to respond instantly, personalise interactions, manage vast amounts of information, and remain compliant with constantly changing regulations. At the same time, talent shortages and budget pressures make it difficult to simply “add more people” to solve the problem.

AI agents help bridge this gap.

Unlike traditional automation, AI agents are designed to support knowledge‑heavy work. They can retrieve information, interpret context, recommend actions, and, in some cases, act autonomously within defined boundaries. This makes them especially valuable in roles where decision‑making, accuracy, and consistency matter.

Industry data shows that businesses adopting AI‑driven tools are already seeing tangible results. Organisations using AI for knowledge work report productivity improvements of 20–40%, while teams supported by AI assistants often reduce time spent searching for information by several hours per week. As AI agents mature, these gains are becoming more sustainable and easier to scale across teams.

What are the benefits of AI agents?

51% of organisations use agents in production today, with 78% having active plans to implement agents soon. When implemented correctly, AI agents deliver measurable business impact across multiple dimensions.

Fabian Fertig, Senior Delivery Consultant, explains: “FDM’s AI Coach for Sales is becoming a specialised, always-available knowledge assistant that elevates how our Sales teams engage with clients. Built on a modular Azure architecture, it autonomously retrieves information from Skills Lab content, practice capabilities, public reports, and fully integrated case studies—enabling fast, consistent, and context-aware responses during conversations. With features like objection-handling role play and seamless access to real examples of delivery success, the AI Coach acts as a practical co-pilot for account managers. As data quality and content governance continue to mature, the tool is positioned to become an essential component of FDM’s AI-enabled sales ecosystem.”

Productivity, efficiency, and time savings

AI agents reduce the time employees spend on repetitive or administrative tasks, freeing them to focus on higher‑value work. Companies successfully deploying AI agents report 61% boosts in employee efficiency. This can translate into faster decision‑making and improved output quality.

AI agents save an average of 60% of time on tasks compared to manual completion.

Decision-making and accuracy

Properly implemented AI agents contribute to 50% reduction in error rates in data processing tasks, ensuring higher quality outputs while reducing costly mistakes. Their ability to analyse vast datasets and identify patterns humans might miss leads to more informed strategic decisions—but only when configured and monitored by people who understand both the technology and the business context.

Better employee experiences

Rather than replacing roles, AI agents increasingly act as collaborators. Employees report higher confidence and reduced cognitive load when supported by intelligent assistants.

Improved ROI

When deployed by teams with proper expertise, financial returns justify investment quickly. Customer Service roles are the second most affected, with nearly a quarter of these positions being impacted by automated technologies.

Autonomous task completion

AI agents can handle complete workflows from start to finish, researching topics, synthesising information from multiple sources, drafting documents, and making decisions based on predefined parameters.

Connects teams, systems, and data

AI agents can coordinate activities across departments and systems, integrating seamlessly with CRM platforms, databases, and communication tools. However, specialised talent is still required to design, implement, and maintain these AI systems effectively.

Specialised domain expertise

As Fabian notes, “AI agents are increasingly evolving into specialised, task-specific services that can operate autonomously or in close collaboration with users. They communicate through standardised APIs and function seamlessly across different systems, supporting modular and scalable architectures that accelerate innovation and adaptability. In domains such as compliance and financial analysis, these agents can deliver substantial time savings and reduce manual workload.”

“Their effectiveness depends heavily on high-quality data and a clean, well-designed system architecture.” This isn’t something you learn from reading articles, requires hands-on experience with real implementations.

The future of AI agents

Looking ahead, Fabian observes: “We will likely see networks of interoperable agents working together to automate complex end-to-end processes.”

The question isn’t whether your competitors are investing in AI, it’s whether they have access to the talent needed to make those investments successful.

How FDM can support

While headlines focus on AI capabilities, the real challenge is more fundamental. 85% of tech executives report having postponed or slowed down important AI projects specifically due to a lack of skilled talent.

Without aligning skill forecasts and AI adoption plans, companies risk stalled transformations. FDM Consultants integrate seamlessly into your teams and accelerate your timeline from pilot to production.