By Scarlett Evans
Publication Date: 2026-10-14 16:26:00
LONDON — Agentic AI is changing business operations, but the pressure to keep up with rapid advancements means many are using tools without knowing where they will lead.
That was a central theme at IBM’s Think on Tour EMEA 2026 conference on Wednesday, where executives argued that trust, governance and oversight are now as important to business outcomes as transformation itself.
In her keynote, Ana Paula Assis, senior vice president and chair for EMEA and APAC at IBM, said 80% of executives expect AI to drive revenue growth, yet only 20% can explain exactly how that will happen.
The stakes are rising as businesses move beyond chatbots toward agents capable of carrying out tasks and making decisions with less human intervention. IBM research presented at the event found that three-quarters of surveyed executives across EMEA expected an agent to execute a complete business task and make a decision without human intervention by 2027. Meanwhile, 80% said at least one
