Business Leaders Still Hesitant to Hand Over the Reins to AI

The report, which surveyed 603 business and technology leaders worldwide in July 2025, revealed that while agentic AI systems, which can make decisions and take actions with minimal human supervision, are spreading quickly, trust remains tightly constrained to lower-risk work. For example, 43% of respondents said they only trust AI agents with limited or routine operational tasks, and 39% restrict them to supervised use cases or non-core processes. This cautious posture underscores a pattern where most enterprises are willing to experiment with AI but are not yet ready to let AI agents make unsupervised decisions that affect finances, customers, or the workforce at scale. According to the report, adoption of AI is moving fast, with 9% of organizations saying they have already deployed AI agents to handle core business processes. However, this rapid deployment is not yet matched by readiness, as 71% of respondents reported that their organizations are still in the early stages of AI adoption. "We're seeing a lot of enthusiasm for AI, but there's still a lot of uncertainty about how to deploy it effectively," said a spokesperson for Workato, the automation platform provider that sponsored the report. The report's findings have significant implications for businesses and society as a whole. As AI becomes increasingly integrated into core business processes, companies will need to develop strategies for trusting and governing AI agents. This will require a fundamental shift in how businesses approach decision-making and risk management. "AI is not just a tool, it's a partner that needs to be trusted and managed," said a technology expert who was not affiliated with the report. The Harvard Business Review Analytic Services research report is the latest in a series of studies that highlight the challenges and opportunities of AI adoption. In recent years, AI has become increasingly ubiquitous in business, with applications ranging from customer service chatbots to predictive analytics and automated decision-making systems. However, as AI becomes more sophisticated, businesses will need to develop new strategies for trusting and governing AI agents. The report's findings also have implications for policymakers and regulators, who will need to develop new frameworks for governing AI adoption. As AI becomes increasingly integrated into core business processes, companies will need to be able to demonstrate that they have adequate systems in place for trusting and governing AI agents. This will require a fundamental shift in how businesses approach risk management and decision-making. The current status of AI adoption is complex and multifaceted, with different industries and companies adopting AI at different rates. While some companies are already deploying AI agents to handle core business processes, others are still in the early stages of adoption. As AI continues to evolve, businesses will need to develop new strategies for trusting and governing AI agents. The report's findings highlight the need for a more nuanced understanding of AI adoption and the challenges and opportunities that it presents.