IT leaders grapple with AI agent sprawl

Businesses are struggling to implement multiagent systems, leading to disconnected workflows and redundant automation, according to a report.

Dive Brief: 

• More than 4 in 5 IT leaders believe the proliferation of AI agents will yield more complexity than value due to integration challenges and silos, according to the 2026 Salesforce Connectivity Benchmark Report published Thursday. The company partnered with Vanson Bourne and Deloitte Digital, surveying 1,050 IT leaders for the report. 
• Enterprises use an average of 12 agents, a number that’s expected to increase to 20 by 2027. Yet agentic AI’s long-term effectiveness hinges on data integration, according to 96% of IT leaders. The average organization manages 957 applications, but only 27% of those applications are connected due to data fragmentation, meaning agents lack access to the data they need, the report found. 
• Nearly all enterprises experience data barriers for AI use cases, with 64% of IT ...