AI agents are becoming real workplace tools. Over half of customer service leaders expect agentic AI to handle routine requests automatically this year, freeing humans for complex problems. Microsoft is actively encouraging developers to build next-gen AI agents for Windows 11, signaling enterprise adoption is accelerating.

Security is the immediate challenge. Exabeam launched AI Agent Security to monitor AI tools for suspicious behavior—a critical need since 80% of enterprises are already deploying AI agents without proper governance. Single malicious prompts can turn helpful tools into insider threats operating at machine speed.

Hardware race intensifies at CES 2026. Nvidia unveiled the Vera Rubin superchip delivering 50 petaflops of inference performance—5x faster than previous generations. Lenovo announced Qira, a personal AI super-agent working across phones, laptops, and wearables simultaneously. Boston Dynamics declared its Atlas humanoid robot production-ready for real-world deployment.

Bottom line for you: If your role involves customer service, data analysis, or routine tasks, expect AI agents to handle 50%+ of your workload this year. Security teams must act now—govern which systems AI agents can access before incidents happen.