75% of Tech Firms Say They Are Extremely Familiar With AI Agents

The next phase of artificial intelligence (AI) adoption is not arriving evenly across the economy. It is taking shape first inside the technology sector itself, where companies that build digital tools are also becoming the earliest and most confident users of autonomous systems.

That is the central theme of “Tech on Tech: How the Technology Sector Is Powering Agentic AI Adoption,” a new PYMNTS Intelligence report based on a survey of senior product leaders at large U.S. enterprises. The study finds that while agentic AI remains nascent across most industries, technology firms are already positioning themselves at the front of the adoption curve. Their behavior offers a preview of how autonomous AI may diffuse into payments, commerce and financial services over time.

The report draws on interviews with 60 chief product officers and heads of product at U.S. companies generating at least $1 billion in annual revenue. Conducted in June, the survey examines awareness, confidence and operational readiness for agentic AI, which refers to systems that can independently plan and execute tasks without human intervention. PYMNTS Intelligence situates this transition within a familiar pattern of technological change, arguing that agentic AI is following an S-shaped adoption curve similar to earlier innovations such as the internet and cloud computing.

Technology firms occupy the leading edge of that curve. They have greater exposure to AI development, deeper engineering talent and longer investment horizons than most goods-producing or services companies. As a result, they are both more knowledgeable about agentic AI and more willing to explore its use in real operations. Other sectors are watching closely but moving more slowly, constrained by regulatory uncertainty, skills gaps and concerns about control.

Three data points from the report illustrate how wide the current divide has become:

Familiarity gap: Three in four technology firms report being extremely familiar with agentic AI, compared with about one in three goods-producing companies and 38% of services firms.

Exploration gap: Some 42% of technology companies say they are actively exploring how to integrate agentic AI into their operations. Fewer than 4% of goods firms report the same, and no services firms do.

ROI recalibration: In March 2024, just over half of tech firms reported very positive returns on generative AI investments. By May 2025, that share had fallen to 17%, while the share reporting only somewhat positive returns rose to 50%.

Beyond these headline figures, the report highlights a more subtle shift that matters for financial services and payments leaders. Early enthusiasm for AI has given way to a more measured assessment of value. Technology firms are still confident, but they are recalibrating expectations about how quickly returns materialize. PYMNTS Intelligence suggests that this mirrors the adoption curve itself, where early gains are followed by a period of adjustment as tools mature and organizations learn how to deploy them effectively.

The research also shows that trust in agentic AI depends heavily on what a company does. Goods producers focus on supply chain integration and efficiency, reflecting their reliance on physical operations. Services firms emphasize cross-platform compatibility and the need for human oversight, given their customer-facing roles. Technology companies, by contrast, are most concerned with bias monitoring and reputational risk, a sign of more advanced AI literacy and higher public scrutiny.

Taken together, the findings suggest that agentic AI adoption will not be driven by hype alone. It will spread as firms gain experience, see tangible returns and resolve governance concerns. Technology companies are serving as the proving ground. Others will follow, but not all at once. Progress will be uneven. Adoption will take time.