AI agents to be integrated into enterprise software by 2026
HSBC's latest report says that Salesforce, Microsoft, Oracle, and ServiceNow are all set to add AI "agents" into their platforms in 2026.
This move comes after a rough February for tech stocks—thanks in part to Anthropic's Claude Code shaking up old-school Cobol programming, which has been linked to recent market disruption; the Nifty IT index crashed by almost 5%, bringing its February losses to about 21% so far.
AI agents will handle domain-specific tasks that are hard to automate
Instead of just crunching numbers or storing data, these AIs will handle tricky tasks that aren't easy to automate—tasks that are domain-specific and difficult to codify;
in legal, accounting and HR teams, they could automate routine processing so humans can focus on exceptions.
Basically, they'll help with the creative problem-solving stuff that software usually struggles with.
Big vendors like Microsoft and Oracle will lead the charge
Big vendors have an edge because of their experience and strong customer ties. They're using AI-powered coders to stay ahead of newer startups.
With years of groundwork already done since 2024, they're ready for a global rollout—so expect smarter business tools and a buildout of AI data centers soon.