{"id":89850,"date":"2025-10-02T04:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-02T11:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/?p=89850"},"modified":"2025-10-02T07:17:04","modified_gmt":"2025-10-02T14:17:04","slug":"idc-ceo-agentic-ai-preparedness-research","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/stories\/idc-ceo-agentic-ai-preparedness-research\/","title":{"rendered":"IDC Research: CEOs on Agentic AI Preparedness"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A new study finds CEOs believe digital labor will be more impactful than the internet, and the most-prepared leaders are looking to AI agents to stay competitive<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Despite claims<\/a> that CEOs are unprepared for agentic AI<\/a>, new research from International Data Corporation (IDC), commissioned by Salesforce and published in the IDC InfoBrief, Voice of the CEO on Digital Labor<\/a>, finds that 99% of CEOs say they\u2019re prepared to integrate digital labor into their business \u2014 and that most (65%) are looking to AI agents<\/a> to transform their business model entirely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The study of over 150 CEOs in the U.S and Canada reveals that most top execs say digital labor will have a greater impact on their business than the internet and cloud computing. In fact, 67% believe implementing agents is critical for their organization to compete in today\u2019s economic climate, and 73% agree that digital labor will transform their company structure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur research shows that CEOs are not only prepared for the agentic AI revolution, they see it as a critical factor for business growth. CEOs understand that agentic AI is a strategic opportunity and are looking to AI agents to unlock new revenue streams and redefine how their teams work,\u201d said Alan Webber, Program Vice President, National Security, Defense and Intelligence at IDC. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

CEOs see agents as an opportunity to shift their workforce from manual, administrative tasks to areas of net-new growth. In fact, 66% of the most-prepared CEOs believe digital labor<\/a> will spur new teams and departments. Most-prepared CEOs say the top outcome of digital labor will be increased revenue and predict that AI agents will increase customer satisfaction and enable their workers to get more done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The data also shows CEOs are rejecting outdated narratives about AI job displacement. A majority of CEOs anticipate the future of work to include both humans and agents, with 4 in 5 employees either remaining in their current roles or redeployed to new ones. And 72% of CEOs predict that they and their employees will have agents reporting to them within the next five years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why it matters:<\/strong> Agentic AI is no longer about just efficiency. Agents\u2019 ability to act, adapt, and orchestrate across workflows is creating opportunities for new revenue streams, business models, and markets. With the current $6 trillion digital labor market opportunity<\/a>, CEOs who focus on growth can help their companies gain competitive advantage and build resilience\u200c \u2014 \u200cwhile those stuck on the \u201cefficiency treadmill\u201d risk being leapfrogged by competitors that use AI to innovate and scale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the numbers:<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

CEOs look to agentic AI to transform their business and stay competitive<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n