Palo Alto Networks CEO Says Enterprises Cautious About Agentic AI

Enterprises may be cautious about adopting agentic artificial intelligence browsers, due to worries about the technology’s autonomy, Palo Alto Networks CEO Nikesh Arora said Thursday (Sept. 4).

Speaking with CNBC’s Jim Cramer, Arora said that while consumers might like to have an agentic browser that can perform tasks for them, enterprises will be wary, CNBC reported.

“I think unless there are controls built into agentic browsers, which are oriented around credentials and enterprise security, they’re not going to be allowed in enterprises in 24 months,” Arora said, per the report.

Arora also said there is a growing risk of credential theft and said Palo Alto Networks’ planned $25 billion acquisition of cybersecurity company CyberArk will help the company provide a solution that will help enterprises protect their privileged information.

Palo Alto Networks announced the acquisition on July 30, saying it expects the transaction to close during its fiscal year 2026, pending regulatory approvals.

The deal came amid a resurgence in high-profile cybersecurity mergers and acquisitions that includes Google completing its largest purchase to date when it acquired cloud security firm Wiz for $32 billion.

On the day his company announced the acquisition of CyberArk, Arora told CNBC: “They are poised to go and disrupt this market and create the platform we need and also solve the upcoming problem with agentic AI. From all those factors, we believe this is the right time to do something like this and be ready for the market in the next 12 to 18 months.”

Google announced its acquisition of Wiz in March, saying the cloud security platform would join Google Cloud when the deal becomes final.

“This acquisition represents an investment by Google Cloud to accelerate two large and growing trends in the AI era: improved cloud security and the ability to use multiple clouds,” Google said at the time in a press release.

The PYMNTS Intelligence report “AI at the Crossroads: Agentic Ambitions Meet Operational Realities” found that trust issues keep firms cautious about agentic AI rollouts, as the firms have concerns about accountability and compliance.

Eighty percent of high-automation enterprises cited data security and privacy as their top concern with agentic AI, according to the report.

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