AI agents can now understand a target, semi-autonomously develop a multi-step plan and take action on your behalf – all under your expert guidance and supervision.
We move away from abstract, future-oriented opportunities and focus on delivering tangible business value right now. Today, Google Cloud dropped its 2026 AI Agent Trends Report along with a companion NotebookLM. Here’s a look at the five key trends that define where agents will fundamentally reshape business and create new value in the coming year.
1. AI agents will help everyone become more productive.
Employees will now be able to delegate tasks to different AI agents to achieve their goals and shift their day-to-day work from routine execution to higher-level strategic direction. AI is already becoming a core driver of work from the start: More than 57,000 team members at Telus regularly use AI, saving 40 minutes per AI interaction. Meanwhile, Suzano, the world’s largest pulp producer, developed an AI agent with Gemini Pro that translates natural language questions into SQL code – resulting in a 95% reduction in the time required to query 50,000 employees.
2. Agent workflows become a core part of business processes.
Multiple agents in a system can collaborate, coordinate and communicate to automate complex multi-step processes. This sophisticated automation goes well beyond chatbots to answer questions, allowing AI to support specific functions of higher business value.
By 2026, we will see companies start connecting agents according to their needs and requirements and run entire workflows from start to finish. For example, Salesforce and Google Cloud are building cross-platform AI agents using the Agent2Agent (A2A) protocol—a leap forward in establishing an open, interoperable foundation for agent businesses.
3. Agents will bring five-star experiences to life for everyone.
The era of scripted chatbots and reactive customer service is coming to an end. In the coming year, we’ll see agents accelerate this shift—establishing hyper-personalized, “concierge-style” service as the new standard for customer interactions.
For example, global manufacturer Danfoss uses AI agents to automate email-based order processing, automate 80% of transaction decisions, and reduce average customer response times from 42 hours to near real-time.
4. AI agents will supercharge security operations.
In a modern security operations center (SOC), human analysts are often overwhelmed by a constant stream of data and alerts. AI agents offer security teams the extra power and coverage they need to identify and respond to threats even faster. Macquarie Bank delivers effective, proactive fraud protection and digital self-service capabilities with Google Cloud AI, driving 38% more users towards self-service and reducing false positives by 40%.
We predict that 2026 will be the year when AI agents take over the most demanding security operations work, automating manual tasks like alert triage and investigation. This will allow human analysts to dedicate their focus to their most critical work: hunting threats and developing next-generation defenses.
5. Companies will double down on training for an AI-ready workforce.
Adopting the latest AI technology and tools is only the first step. The biggest challenge – and the most critical factor for success – is people. During 2026, organizations will move from simply buying AI to building an AI-ready workforce, moving away from one-off training to developing adaptable, continuous learning plans. These programs provide hands-on practice with real-world scenarios so employees can build the AI ​​skills they need at their own pace and on their own schedule.
Check out the full report for more details on the AI ​​agent trend predictions in 2026.