The future of AI agents: key predictions and trends for 2026

The “vibe codingappearance, i.e. the workslop, a wave of low-quality, hallucinatory AI noise that forced employees to spend hours checking on agents that were supposed to be saving them time.

By 2026, the agent boom is undeniable. According to a new study by Salesforce that surveyed CIOs, AI adoption has increased by 282%, a sign of the technology’s appeal. However, the report also reveals that a significant portion of leaders remain hesitant to fully transition to an autonomous, agent-based strategy. Why? Trust in data has become the number one barrier as leaders weigh the risks of autonomous action against the undeniable benefits of economies of scale.

The question now is not whether the agents will change the way we work, but how organizations will manage them, trust them, and live with them. The following predictions explore this:

• The Future of Agent AI: Proactive, Multi-Agent Systems
• Trusted Agent AI as a Differentiator
• Unexpected Use Cases for Agent AI
• The Broader Impact of Agent AI
• What Does It Take to Succeed in Agent AI?

What Is Salesforce (and Why Its Leaders Are Predicting the Future)?

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