Agentic AI - artificial intelligence that can work independently to reach goals - is becoming the biggest technology story of 2025. Gartner, one of the world's leading research companies, ranked it as the number one strategic technology trend for this year. Unlike regular AI that just answers questions, agentic AI can plan steps, make decisions, and complete complex tasks without constant human help.

The legal industry is at the center of major discussions about how to use these powerful AI tools safely. At the International Legal Technology Association Conference (ILTACON) 2025 in Maryland, United States, experts gathered to talk about autonomous legal workflow potential. The conference panel called "Orchestrating Intelligence: AI Agents in the Legal Space" highlighted three key points for success.

First, AI agents work differently because they have goals in mind. Unlike old technology that just follows commands, these systems understand what they need to accomplish. Second, the importance of context means these AI agents make better decisions when they have more information to work with. Third, even though these systems are more independent, lawyer input is still required for checking and approving their work.

Real-time compliance monitoring is becoming the new standard for businesses worldwide. Companies are using agentic AI to watch for rule violations as they happen, instead of checking only during scheduled reviews. Gartner predicts that spending on governance, risk, and compliance tools will jump by 50 percent by 2026 as company boards demand always-on monitoring.

A great example comes from JPMorgan, a major bank in the United States. They use autonomous anti-money laundering (AML) agents to check millions of transactions every single day. These AI helpers have cut false positive alerts by an amazing 95 percent, which means human investigators can focus on real problems instead of false alarms.

Government regulation is moving quickly in the United States. The Trump administration issued Executive Order 14319, which focuses on unbiased AI principles. This order requires the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to create guidance for federal agencies within 120 days - meaning by November 20, 2025. This shows how seriously the US government is taking AI fairness and safety.

The insurance industry is stepping up to help businesses adopt agentic AI safely. Insurance companies want to offer coverage that protects against various AI risks like algorithmic failure, unfair bias, unclear regulations, and damage to company reputation. Brandon Nuttall from Xceedance explains that many businesses are exploring agentic AI, but fewer are using it at large scale because they worry about these risks.

Policy-aware guardrails are becoming essential for safe AI deployment. Google has created a secure agent framework that requires named human controllers, scope restrictions, and detailed activity logs. The European Union AI Act now requires high-risk AI systems in areas like healthcare, hiring, and infrastructure to keep detailed event logs and track where decisions come from.

Legal professionals are discovering many practical uses for agentic AI. These include autonomous document management where AI organizes and maintains legal files automatically, intelligent case preparation where AI conducts research and finds relevant court cases, automated deadline management where AI tracks important dates and schedules, and client communication coordination where AI handles routine updates while alerting lawyers to complex matters.

However, trust remains a challenge. McKinsey's 2024 survey found that 91 percent of business leaders felt unprepared to scale AI safely, with explainability being their top concern. PwC reports that only 11 percent of organizations have fully implemented responsible AI practices, showing there's still much work to be done.

The future success of agentic AI depends on building alignment and governance into these systems from the start, not adding safety measures later. As one expert put it, "alignment is not the job of AI engineers alone" - it requires teamwork from compliance, operations, security, and leadership teams across organizations.