Conclusion

The Future is Not [Just] Fewer People – it’s Different Work

The research suggests that agentic AI is expected to reshape service delivery models, but that current deployments have yet to deliver the dramatic impacts expected, and most organisations remain in pilot stages.

What is becoming clear, however, is that agentic AI is accelerating a broader transformation already underway, with GBS shifting from labour-arbitrage and efficiency-focused models toward digitally enabled, outcome-oriented operations.

The greatest impact may not just be the elimination of work but the redesign of work itself. Transactional activities will increasingly be executed by autonomous systems, while human roles shift toward orchestration, governance, innovation, stakeholder management and business partnership.

Organisations that succeed will be those that proactively combine technology investment with process redesign, workforce transformation and governance.

How would you rate your board/leadership's expectation for changing the GBS model based on Agentic AI adoption?

No clear expectations yet
Some interest in changing the model
Strong pressure to change the model
Clear expectation of GBS model being replaced by another solution

What are your top technology investments in the next 12 months?

Agentic AI
OCR
ERP
Service Management
Other

Tell Us What You Think…

Continue the Conversation at SSOW Autumn 2026

The findings in this report reinforce a critical reality facing GBS leaders in 2026: the challenge is no longer identifying where Agentic AI can be applied. The challenge is creating the foundations, operating models, governance structures, and workforce capabilities required to scale it successfully.

While technology continues to advance rapidly, organisations are discovering that sustainable value depends on far more than AI alone. Data quality, process ownership, workforce transformation, executive alignment, and governance are emerging as the true differentiators between organisations achieving meaningful outcomes and those remaining stuck in pilot mode.

These themes sit at the heart of SSOW Autumn 2026, where the industry's leading GBS, transformation, automation, and process leaders will come together to explore how organisations can move beyond experimentation and deliver enterprise-wide impact.

The insights presented throughout this report are powered by SSON Research & Analytics, the largest and most comprehensive independent research function dedicated to the Shared Services and Global Business Services community. For organisations seeking to understand not only where the industry is today, but where it is heading next, SSON Research & Analytics remains one of the most trusted sources of intelligence available to the global GBS community.

Join us at SSOW Autumn, 20-22 October 2026, Amsterdam RAI, Netherlands, to continue the conversation and discover how leading organisations are turning Agentic AI from promise into performance.