AI Agents: A Foolproof Scheme (Almost)

The future, dear reader, is arriving not on horseback, but on a silicon wafer. Gartner, those meticulous accountants of the digital age, predict a veritable explosion in ‘agentic AI’ – programs that accomplish tasks with a minimum of human fuss. Currently, only 5% of enterprises are employing these digital assistants. A mere handful, really. A cautious lot, these captains of industry, hesitant to replace their loyal (and expensively salaried) employees with algorithms. A sensible reluctance, one might think.

But hold onto your hats! Gartner anticipates this figure soaring to 40% by the end of 2026. Eightfold! A growth rate that would make even a particularly ambitious mushroom blush. By 2035, they foresee agentic AI capturing a full 30% of all enterprise application software sales, a tidy sum indeed. It’s enough to make a man consider abandoning a perfectly respectable career and investing in… well, everything.

The window of opportunity, however, is alarmingly brief. Gartner warns C-suite executives they have a mere three to six months to formulate a strategy. A pittance! It’s as if they expect these titans of commerce to predict the weather based on the flight patterns of pigeons. Naturally, this creates a delightful frenzy, a gold rush for those nimble enough to exploit the chaos. And where there is chaos, my friends, there is profit.

UiPath: The Robotic Workforce

Let us begin with UiPath, the world’s largest purveyor of robotic process automation. They offer software robots – digital laborers, if you will – that can be plugged into existing systems to automate the most tedious tasks. Data entry, customer onboarding, invoice processing… the sort of work that drives perfectly sane individuals to contemplate early retirement. UiPath, in essence, offers a solution to the universal problem of having to actually do things.

Streamlining the Chaos

ServiceNow, meanwhile, offers a cloud-based platform that streamlines unstructured work patterns into automated digital workflows. A wonderfully convoluted description for a system that essentially organizes things. Their customers, including over 85% of the Fortune 500, can expand more efficiently, reduce costs, and support remote workers. A trifecta of corporate desires!

This platform, naturally, is a perfect foundation for rolling out agentic AI services. Last year, they launched the ServiceNow AI Platform, complete with a centralized “control tower” for orchestrating agents, a workflow data fabric for context-aware decisions, and an AI engagement layer for coordinating actions. A digital bureaucracy, if you will, but a remarkably efficient one. Like UiPath, they rely on human oversight, coaching, and refinement. Their CEO, Bill McDermott, proclaims that agentic AI is “not just a revolution; it’s the only way to survive.” A rather dramatic pronouncement, but one cannot argue with a man who understands the urgency of the situation.

Analysts predict revenue and adjusted EBITDA growth of 19% and 20% respectively between 2025 and 2028. With an enterprise value of $95 billion, ServiceNow also appears relatively cheap, at 17 times this year’s adjusted EBITDA. A tempting proposition, wouldn’t you agree?

Evergreen Investments, or Just Clever Marketing?

UiPath and ServiceNow are not immune to macroeconomic headwinds, of course. Companies may rein in software spending during difficult times. However, both offer solutions that streamline operations, cut costs, and reduce reliance on human employees. These strengths may insulate them from downturns and drive more companies to adopt AI agents aggressively. This, my friends, could make them evergreen long-term investments. Or, at the very least, a wonderfully lucrative distraction.

2026-02-24 21:03

UiPath: The Robotic Workforce

Evergreen Investments, or Just Clever Marketing?

Read More