AI agents can now understand a goal, semi-autonomously develop a multi-step plan, and take action on your behalf, all under your expert guidance and supervision.
We’re moving away from abstract, forward-looking possibilities and focusing now on creating tangible business value. Today, Google Cloud abandoned its AI Agent Trends Report 2026accompanied by a NotebookLM companion. Here’s a look at five key trends that define where agents will fundamentally reshape their business and drive new value in the year ahead.
1. AI agents will help everyone be more productive.
Employees will now be able to delegate tasks to different AI agents to achieve their goals, moving their daily work from routine execution to higher-level strategic direction. AI has already become a critical work enabler from the start: over 57,000 Telus team members use AI regularly and save 40 minutes per interaction with AI. Meanwhile, Suzano, the world’s largest pulp manufacturer, developed an AI agent with Gemini Pro that translates natural language questions into SQL code, resulting in a 95% reduction in the time required for queries among 50,000 employees.
2. Agent workflows will become an essential 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, so that AI can support specific functions with higher business value.
In 2026, we will see businesses start to connect their agents based on their needs and requirements, running complete workflows from start to finish. For example, Salesforce and Google Cloud are building cross-platform AI agents using the Agent2Agent (A2A) protocol, a step 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 responsive customer service is coming to an end. In the coming year, we will see agents accelerate this shift by establishing hyper-personalized, concierge-style service as the new standard for customer interactions.
For example, global manufacturer Danfoss uses AI agents to automate email order processing, thereby automating 80% of transactional decisions and reducing average customer response time from 42 hours to near real time.
4. AI agents will boost security operations.
In a modern security operations center (SOC), human analysts are often overwhelmed by a constant stream of data and alerts. AI agents give security teams the added 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, directing 38% more users to self-service and reducing false positive alerts by 40%.
We predict that 2026 will be the year that AI agents take over the most demanding security operations, automating manual tasks such as alert triage and investigations. This will allow human analysts to focus on their most critical work: tracking threats and developing next-generation defenses.
5. Companies will redouble their efforts to train an AI-ready workforce.
Adopting the latest AI technologies and tools is just the first step. The biggest challenge – and the most crucial success factor – is people. In 2026, organizations will move from simply purchasing AI to building an AI-ready workforcemoving from one-off training to developing ongoing, adaptable learning plans. These programs provide hands-on practice with real-world scenarios, allowing employees to learn the AI skills they need at their own pace and on their own schedule.
Discover the full report for more details on forecast AI agent trends in 2026.