AI Agent Deployments Nearly Triple Amid Growing Sophistication
Businesses have nearly tripled their use of artificial intelligence (AI) agents over the past year, according to Salesforce's 2026 Agentic Enterprise Index.
The average number of AI agents activated per organization increased by almost three times from February 2025 to April 2026.
Salesforce identified two approaches to deploying AI agents: consumer-facing industries use them for high-volume, task-specific work, while operationally complex and heavily regulated industries deploy more advanced agents capable of handling varied tasks.
The company found that AI agents are becoming increasingly sophisticated, with the average agent able to handle six skills, up from two at the beginning of 2025. During peak shopping periods, retail agents could act on nine skills, a 350% increase.