A few years ago, the term AI agent was unknown to most CIOs. It only showed up in a handful of academic papers far removed from the realities of the business world. Today, AI agents are quickly becoming part of the enterprise fabric, forcing CIOs to adapt to a new model of work where humans exist alongside these autonomous systems. And adoption of AI agents is only accelerating. According to Dynatrace’s Pulse of Agentic AI 2026 report, 26% of organizations already have 11 or more agent projects underway. While roughly half of these initiatives remain in the POC or pilot stage, a growing number of companies have moved beyond experimentation into scaled deployment. AI agents are used primarily in IT operations and DevOps, with adoption also expanding in software engineering and customer support.

Full opinion : As CIOs build on how they lead hybrid teams of humans and AI agents, and innovate while keeping governance, accountability, and trust in place, they’re moving further away from the image of merely managing technology.