Why AI agents failed to take over in 2025 - it's 'a story as old as time,' says Deloitte

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ZDNET's key takeaways

• AI agents did not take off in 2025. 
• Obstacles include legacy systems and architecture. 
• Companies that succeeded were thoughtful about implementation.

This past year was deemed the year of AI agents by experts and industry leaders alike, with a promise to revolutionize how people work and increase productivity. However, consultancy Deloitte's new Tech Trends report found that these autonomous AI assistants actually failed to take off, identifying both the obstacles preventing widespread adoption and ways to overcome them. 

Every year, Deloitte releases its Tech Trends report, which examines the biggest trends of the past year to help inform enterprise leaders and workers alike about what to look out for in the upcoming year. Naturally, the main topic of the 17th report, like that of the past two years' reports, which ...