EY survey reveals that technology companies are setting the pace of agentic AI - will others follow suit?

• 48% of tech executives are already adopting or fully deploying agentic AI
• Half of tech executives say more than 50% of AI deployment will be autonomous in their company in the next 24 months

NEW YORK, May 14, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Ernst & Young LLP (EY US) today released its latest Technology Pulse Poll, which reveals a notable uptick in confidence and investment from technology leaders around agentic AI. The poll, which was conducted in April 2025 and surveyed more than 500 technology leaders, shows that 48% are already adopting or fully deploying agentic artificial intelligence (AI) – and investment is following suit. Half of the respondents say that more than 50% of AI deployment will be autonomous in their company in the next 24 months. This momentum is backed by strong executive confidence, as 81% of respondents report feeling optimistic about AI's potential to help achieve their organizations' goals within the next 12 months.

"Technology companies continue to set the pace for rapid agentic AI adoption," says James Brundage, EY Global and Americas Technology Sector Leader. "Against an uncertain macroeconomic and trade environment, executives are still overwhelmingly positive on the business value that agentic AI can deliver. Our survey shows reaffirmations in ambitious AI spending and a move from pilots to production, which are other indicators of the positive trendline for these leaders. That said, despite the optimism they're feeling, there's still tremendous pressure for these technology leaders to demonstrate return on investment now through measurement and tangible top-line and bottom-line results."

The poll also shows that AI investment in general continues to gain momentum, with 92% of technology leaders expecting to increase AI spending over the next year, a 10% increase from March 2024. Further, more than half (58%) of executive respondents believe their organization is ahead of competitors in AI investment, signaling a clear shift toward prioritizing AI in long-term business planning.

"High tech will always be the early adopters, and this latest pulse poll underscores that reality. The majority of technology companies feel they are ahead of their competition, which speaks to the pace of innovation that technology leaders are driving," says Ken Englund, EY Americas Technology Sector Growth Leader. "However, this is more perception than reality, since these companies tend to have a higher opinion of their progress than is statistically possible. It is still very early in the AI lifecycle, so it remains to be seen where these companies stand against the competition, and an outside-in view will be a critical measuring stick."

Other key findings from the pulse poll include:

• Agentic AI shifts from experimental to essential: Among those executive respondents planning to increase their AI budgets, 43% of them say more than half of their total AI budget is currently allocated for agentic AI. More than 2 in 3 executives (69%) say their organization is adopting agentic AI to stay competitive, as well as to help customers (59%) and for internal strategy (59%).
• The workplace impact remains mixed: When it comes to the talent needed to implement AI, we'll likely see a significant hiring of resources, while a rebalancing of the workforce is still happening. Technology companies are focusing on upskilling (70%) and hiring AI-skilled talent (68%) almost equally, with 84% of tech leader respondents anticipating hiring in the next six months as a result of AI adoption.
• Security becomes top concern as AI adoption scales: While 73% of technology leaders say they have security and privacy governance frameworks in place to oversee AI-driven decisions, they still have concerns about the current state of AI. Today, almost half (49%) of tech leader respondents noted data privacy and security breaches as their biggest concern, which is 19 percentage points higher than it was in 2024.

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Survey methodology
EY US commissioned Atomik Research to conduct an online survey of 504 U.S. business leaders working within the technology industry. Participants held roles similar or equivalent to director, vice president, senior vice president, executive vice president, C-suite or president. Business leaders surveyed worked at organizations consisting of 5,000 or more employees. The margin of error is +/- 4 percentage points with a confidence level of 95%. Fieldwork took place between April 9 and April 21, 2025.

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SOURCE EY