Dive Brief:

• More than a quarter (27%) of business leaders say agentic artificial intelligence tools designed to perform workplace functions with little human intervention are “overhyped” as the technology rapidly gains public attention, according to recent Workday survey findings.
• The research revealed a mixture of workplace attitudes toward the technology as a rising number of organizations experiment with it. While three-quarters of respondents were open to working with AI agents, only 30% were comfortable with being managed by them. Comfort levels also plummeted when it came to using AI agents for critical financial decisions, with four in 10 individuals embracing that use case.
• “Many see AI as a transformative force promising societal improvements, yet a strong current of doubt and skepticism persists, ranging from job displacement to existential threats,” the report said.

Dive Insight:

The research comes as Gartner predicts that more than 40% of agentic AI projects will be canceled by the end of 2027, due to escalating costs, unclear business value or inadequate risk controls.

“Most agentic AI projects right now are early stage experiments or proof of concepts that are mostly driven by hype and are often misapplied,” Anushree Verma, a senior director analyst at Gartner, said in a June statement. “This can blind organizations to the real cost and complexity of deploying AI agents at scale, stalling projects from moving into production.”

Many vendors are contributing to the hype by engaging in “agent washing” — the rebranding of existing products, such as AI assistants, robotic process automation and chatbots, “without substantial agentic capabilities,” Gartner said.

Workday, one of a growing number of enterprise software companies that are now offering AI agents, said its own study underscores that while the technology is gaining ground in the workplace, people still want clear boundaries around its use.

“We're entering a new era of work where AI can be an incredible partner,” Kathy Pham, vice president of AI at Workday, said in a statement. “Building trust means being intentional in how AI is used and keeping people at the center of every decision.”

Workday’s research showed widespread interest in AI agents, with 82% of organizations saying they intended to expand their use of the technology. Over half (56%) of respondents said they expected agentic AI to deliver a return on investment within 12 months.

Top barriers to adoption include concerns related to bias, data privacy, legal issues and misuse of the technology, according to the research.

“As organizations progress from leveraging agents in data-heavy domains such as IT and skills development — or even specific HR functions such as forecasting and scheduling — the real challenge will be extending their application into more sensitive areas touching upon human judgment, financial decisions, and legal intricacies,” the report said.

The study, conducted by Hanover Research in May and June on behalf of Workday, was based on a global survey of 2,950 decision-makers and software implementation leaders.