Agentic AI 2026 playbook offers key insights on agentic AI adoption and a framework to help mid-market enterprises operationalize AI at scale.

EL DORADO HILLS, Calif.: #AIAdoption--R Systems International Limited commissioned, independent research and analysis by Everest Group, and today announced the publication of Agentic AI 2026: A Mid-Market Playbook for Adoption and Scale, a new research report of over 200 global mid-market enterprise leaders. With more than 40% of mid-market enterprises bypassing traditional AI adoption stages to accelerate competitiveness, it’s clear that scaling agentic AI is no longer an aspiration, but a priority for these enterprises.

The report offers key insights into where mid-market organizations are in their agentic AI adoption, as well as a practical framework to help them overcome integration complexity, legacy system constraints, and governance readiness gaps to scale agentic AI with measurable impact.

Other key findings from the report include:

• Most enterprises are only in pilot phases: 57% of enterprises are in the "pilot" stage of agentic AI, running controlled trials; only 15% have reached the "scaler" stage where they have operationalized agents across functions.
• Enterprises trust agentic AI: 64% of enterprises express "high" or "very high" trust in agentic AI.
• Governance frameworks are lagging: Only 7% of enterprises have agentic-specific policies in place. Approximately 30% of enterprises are significantly exposed, operating with either generic AI frameworks or no policy at all.

“We are at a critical moment in the enterprise AI journey,” said Nitesh Bansal, Managing Director and CEO, R Systems. “We are pleased to commission this report by Everest Group to not only give clarity on where enterprises stand in their agentic AI adoption, but also to provide a practical playbook for embedding AI into real enterprise environments, by balancing autonomy with accountability and driving measurable impact.”

Where Mid-Market Enterprises Are Already Delivering Results

The report identifies clear value hotspots where agentic AI is already delivering tangible returns:

• IT Operations has emerged as the most scale-ready function, with semi-autonomous incident triage, root-cause analysis, and runbook execution reducing operational toil.
• Software Engineering stands out as the strongest launchpad for scale, delivering nearly 30% efficiency uplift, particularly across monitoring, requirements gathering, and testing/QA.
• Customer Support is transitioning from deflection to resolution, with agents executing policy-bound actions such as refunds and entitlement changes.
• Finance and Accounting is gaining traction in structured, dual-control workflows including reconciliations and close activities.

By industry, adoption correlates strongly with digital maturity. Technology and telecom firms are scaling fastest, BFSI players are advancing cautiously due to regulatory complexity, and healthcare organizations largely remain in exploratory phases.

The Path to Thoughtful Agentic AI at Scale

Scaling agentic AI within enterprise environments requires solving for:

• Integration complexity across fragmented legacy systems
• Immature tooling and ecosystem fragmentation
• Security, auditability, and rollback controls
• Limited governance maturity
• Workforce readiness gaps in AI oversight and data proficiency

To address these realities, the playbook recommends anchoring adoption in outcome-led, high-impact use cases; embedding governance and accountability directly into production workflows; and scaling autonomy in clearly defined tiers aligned to business risk. It emphasizes modernizing within an enterprise context by addressing integration complexity, technical debt, and data integrity upfront. The playbook also underscores the importance of human oversight, ownership models, and workforce readiness alongside technology enablement, while building hybrid ecosystems that combine hyperscalers, integrators, and specialist AI partners.

The playbook outlines a deliberate, phased adoption sequence for scaling agentic AI, along with practical steps to strengthen governance and trust through formal oversight mechanisms and clearly defined ownership models. It also provides a structured view of the evolving agentic AI ecosystem, detailing key provider categories, their differentiators, and where each is best applied, enabling enterprises to unlock sustainable, long-term value.

Akshat Vaid, Partner at Everest Group, states, “As organizations look to move from AI experimentation to execution, this report offers timely guidance on how to scale agentic AI responsibly. Our research commissioned by R Systems highlights what leaders must get right to convert early promise into sustained business value.”

To download the report, please visit: https://www.rsystems.com/playbook/agentic-ai-mid-market-playbook-for-adoption-and-scale

About R Systems

R Systems is a global product engineering and digital solutions provider. We combine complex engineering, Data & AI, cloud-native capabilities with deep domain understanding to design and build innovative products for Tech, SaaS platforms and enterprises across industry verticals. We leverage the power of Automation and Agentic AI to transform value chains to boost productivity and deliver differentiated customer experiences. With a culture of co-creation and an extensive partner ecosystem, we help customers navigate market shifts and drive sustained strategic growth.

www.rsystems.com

About Everest Group

Everest Group is a leading global research firm helping business leaders make confident decisions. We guide clients through today’s market challenges and strengthen their strategies by applying contextualized problem-solving to their unique situations. This drives maximum operational and financial performance and transformative experiences. Our deep expertise and tenacious research focused on technology, business processes, and engineering through the lenses of talent, sustainability, and sourcing delivers precise and action-oriented guidance. Find further details and in-depth content at www.everestgrp.com.

Fonte: Business Wire