According to a recent survey by Channel Futures, channel partners are adopting agentic artificial intelligence at a faster rate than their clients. The survey, which included responses from 276 channel partners, found that only 8.3% of partners and 4.7% of clients have fully integrated agentic AI into their operations. While 28.3% of clients are currently evaluating use cases, partners report a higher level of progress, with 22.8% indicating partial use in production environments. The survey also revealed a trend where larger companies are more advanced in their adoption of agentic AI. Among partners with revenues of $100 million or more, 17% reported full integration, while smaller firms are primarily in the consideration or evaluation stages. Security and compliance concerns were identified as the top barriers to adoption, with 47% citing these issues, followed by a lack of internal expertise at 36% and budget constraints at 35%.
A recent study from Florida State University reveals that artificial intelligence, specifically ChatGPT, is significantly influencing human speech patterns. Researchers found that as more than half of adults under 30 and nearly half of those aged 30 to 49 have used this service, there is an observable increase in the usage of specific words often associated with the chatbot, such as “delve,” “intricate,” and “meticulous.” The study analyzed a dataset of over 22 million words from conversational podcasts, comparing trends before and after the release of ChatGPT. The results indicated that the adoption of language from the chatbot is not only altering word choices but could potentially shape the way we express social and moral beliefs.
A recent survey by WalkMe reveals a significant “AI readiness gap” in the workplace, highlighting that many employees, including top executives, are often using artificial intelligence tools without sufficient training or guidance. Nearly 49% of workers admit to hiding their AI usage to avoid judgment, with 53% of C-suite leaders concealing their habits despite being frequent users. The survey indicates that 62.6% of Generation Z have completed work using AI but often pretend it was entirely their own effort, reflecting a broader trend of anxiety and lack of support regarding AI in the workplace. Only 6.8% of this group reported receiving extensive training on AI tools, the lowest among all age groups, while 89% use AI at work, often without employer approval.
A new report from PricewaterhouseCoopers reveals that artificial intelligence agents are fundamentally transforming the nature of work. According to their midyear AI update, these AI agents are evolving from complementary tools to central components of workflows, enabling teams to delegate tasks across specialized agents in areas such as human resources and finance. The report also highlights that companies integrating ethical governance early in their AI initiatives are experiencing stronger returns on their investments and faster scaling.
Why do we care?
Here’s the state of AI: partners are ahead of clients in adoption, but barely—less than 10 percent are fully integrated. And remember our data from yesterday, which today confirms big firms are moving faster, small firms are stuck on security, compliance, and budget. Meanwhile, people are already changing how they talk because of ChatGPT—using words like “delve” without realizing it. Workers? Nearly half are hiding their AI use, even execs. Gen Z is cranking out work with AI but pretending it’s all their own. And PwC says AI agents aren’t sidekicks anymore—they’re running workflows. That gap between glossy vendor promises and actual deployment is where providers earn trust—execution, not experimentation, is the differentiator. That’s a service line waiting to be packaged—designing governed AI workflows can be a billable outcome, not just advisory.
This is messy. Clients are experimenting, employees are hiding usage, and governance is almost nonexistent. That’s where IT services come in: make AI safe, transparent, and useful. Your role is to cut through the hype, stop the shadow use, and design workflows where AI actually delivers outcomes. We like messy, hard problems, because that’s where the margin lives.