Why Agentic Artificial Intelligence Needs To Be On Every Boardroom Agenda Today

In business, timing often determines who leads and who lags, and right now, the pace of change is striking. Today, one of the most urgent shifts is the rise of agentic artificial intelligence (AI).  

What began as an experiment at the edges of organizations is rapidly becoming central to enterprise operations, and it’s already shaping competitive advantage in the boardroom. Just as cloud computing once reshaped how businesses scaled and operated, agentic AI is now redefining how work gets done. What was once a broad concept has rapidly matured into tools that are being adopted at enterprise level.   

The rise of agentic AI is more than a talking point for business leaders. Today, it marks the moment when conversations in the boardroom must move from awareness to strategy. Executives need to be thinking about where agentic AI can create immediate impact, how to test it responsibly, and how to set their organizations up to scale its use over time. 

Understanding Agentic AI (And Why It Matters) 

Agentic AI goes beyond responding to prompts. These systems execute tasks, anticipate needs, and connect workflows across platforms with minimal human intervention—within clear boundaries of governance. That level of autonomy is what makes this technology such a leap forward.  

Over the past year, the popularity of agentic AI has surged. Businesses across different industries are piloting tools, often with results that surprise even their own teams. A recent report found that 77 percent of information technology (IT) executives are ready to invest in agentic AI this year. As businesses face mounting pressure to do more with less, agentic AI presents an opportunity that cannot be ignored.  

For the C-suite, the message is clear. If teams are not experimenting with agentic AI use cases, they risk falling behind competitors who are. Encouraging exploration now is less about novelty, and more about building future resilience. 

Why Departments Stand To Gain 

One of the most compelling reasons to prioritize agentic AI is its versatility. Unlike tools that benefit only specific departments, agentic AI transforms how every team works. Operations that previously required manual oversight and intervention can now run autonomously. Teams across an organization can deliver faster, more responsive service, while reducing the resources needed to maintain quality standards.  

This broad applicability changes the strategic conversation. Traditional technology investments typically benefit one department at a time, requiring separate business cases and implementation timelines. Agentic AI, however, creates value simultaneously across multiple functions, from customer-facing operations to internal processes. This cross-functional impact is a reason why boardroom conversations have shifted from departmental technology decisions to enterprise-wide transformation planning.  

Real impact comes when silos disappear. Enterprises need systems that unify security data, operational metrics, and business performance indicators into a trusted foundation. Without that connected view, agentic AI cannot make reliable or responsible decisions at scale. Business leaders should plan company-wide rollouts rather than testing AI in just one department. The result is competitive advantages that compound across every part of the business. 

The Payoff For The C-Suite 

The appeal of agentic AI to the C-suite is simple. Faster decision-making, better resource allocation, and more resilient operations sit prominently on the boardroom agenda. Agentic AI offers to deliver transformation efficiently and quickly. When agents take over repeatable processes, teams gain time and focus, which allows them to concentrate on tasks and projects that drive growth and long-term success.  

There’s also the competitive edge to consider. Companies that integrate agentic AI effectively will see gains in innovation cycles, speed to market, and customer satisfaction. Those outcomes support departmental key performance indicators (KPIs), but they also shape the overall performance metrics that matter to leadership, from revenue growth to shareholder confidence. The question for executives becomes how soon they want to start reaping those advantages, rather than waiting until it becomes standard practice.  

Governance cannot be an afterthought. Autonomy without accountability introduces risk. Leaders must establish clear guardrails and policies that balance innovation and risk management. Compliance and visibility into how an agent acts, so that teams can innovate with confidence, are the keys to success. This means ensuring compliance in relevant regions and setting accountability structures that protect both the organization and its customers. Companies that establish governance frameworks early will move faster with confidence, while those that wait may find themselves constrained by risk-averse decision-making. 

The Future Is Agentic  

Agentic AI is a current opportunity that forward-thinking organizations are already capitalizing on. It should be a regular topic on every boardroom agenda because it provides a competitive advantage today while fostering the resilience that enterprises will need for the future. Encouraging teams to experiment, identify practical use cases, and integrate agentic AI into everyday operations will help businesses stay ahead of the curve. Competitors are moving quickly, and the organizations that take action now, supported by a solid foundation and transparent governance, will set the pace for the future. 

About The Author 

Philippe Deblois is the Global Vice President for Solutions Engineering at Dynatrace, an American multinational technology company.