Marketers face rising gap in Agentic AI adoption & maturity

A study from SAS and Coleman Parkes has identified a growing divide among marketers in the adoption and scaling of Agentic AI.

The research, entitled Marketers and AI: Navigating New Depths, surveyed 300 marketing decision-makers from organisations of varying sizes and sectors worldwide. Findings indicate that just over half of respondents (51%) are planning to invest in Agentic AI within the next year, while only 21% report active trials in live environments.

This adoption gap is leading to differentiated outcomes, with early movers seeing measurable returns on investment while others lag in deployment. The study categorises marketers into three maturity groups - Observers, Planners, and Adopters. Adopters are already scaling Agentic AI systems, Planners intend to implement within a year, and Observers anticipate adoption within two years.

Maturity gap

The report finds notable disparities between these groups. Among Adopters, 63% have implemented enterprise-wide AI strategies, as opposed to 25% of Observers. Meanwhile, 42% of Adopters use AI extensively across campaign channels for real-time decision-making, compared to just 1% of Observers. Furthermore, 75% of Adopters state they are using AI to its full potential, while only 7% of Observers say the same.

Understanding of Agentic AI also varies significantly. Only 3% of Observers report a strong understanding, while 61% of Adopters express such familiarity, pointing to confidence as a driver of adoption and wider experimentation.

"Observers may be running out of time," said Mike Blanchard, Vice President, Marketing Technology and Personalisation Solutions at SAS. "While they are still considering Agentic AI current adopters have moved beyond the passive capabilities of Generative AI to Agentic AI and are seeing real productivity and efficiency gains, cost savings, and an overall better customer experience being delivered. And they're not stopping there. Agentic AI early adopters, well versed in technology, are already incorporating quantum computing into their roadmaps, which will scale productivity and efficiency even further. In today's market – where AI adoption equals long-term competitive advantage – can any brand really afford to stand by and watch?"

Agentic AI use and foundations

Agentic AI, as defined in the study, includes capabilities beyond content generation: it enables autonomous decision-making, continuous learning, and real-time optimisation. The report emphasises that such capabilities depend on a strong generative AI foundation, robust data pipelines, clear ROI metrics, and a strategic framework.

Among Adopters, 47% have implemented continuous learning agents and 45% deploy performance reporting within their marketing technologies.

Trust and governance

Despite the accelerating uptake, trust in Agentic AI systems remains limited. The majority of marketers - 90% - express some level of trust, but fewer than 5% say they trust the technology fully. While 79% feel somewhat confident in their organisation's AI governance, few express strong confidence, identifying a gap in effective oversight as AI autonomy rises.

Quantum considerations

The report also finds that half (50%) of Agentic AI Adopters have already included quantum computing in their digital or innovation strategies, compared to 25% of Observers. This marks a shift among Adopters from merely observing advances to embedding emerging technologies into their long-term transformation plans.

The survey, which covered organisations from small and medium businesses to enterprises with more than 10,000 employees, suggests that the transition from passive observation to active deployment and strategy is widening the performance gap among marketers globally.