What Is Agentic AI and Its Potential for Business Automation

IT and transformation leaders often hear plenty of claims about “autonomous AI.” Yet the difference between an assistant that only answers questions and an agent that gets the work done is often unclear. This can make investment decisions harder. This article explains the concept of agentic AI, sets it apart from generative AI, and maps its potential to automate work across a range of functions. It also gives an example of how it is applied in the ERP.

Agentic AI is an artificial intelligence system that can decide on the steps, make decisions, and carry out actions to reach a goal with minimal human oversight. Unlike generative AI, which only creates content in response to a command, agentic AI completes a workflow by planning, calling other systems, and acting. Agentic AI does more than respond to a single prompt.

What Is the Difference Between Agentic AI and Generative AI?

The main difference lies in how they work. Generative AI is reactive: it waits for a prompt, then creates content such as text, images, or code. Agentic AI is proactive. It sets a goal, builds a plan, calls other systems, and carries out tasks. The two are complementary. An agentic system uses a generative model as its reasoning layer.

An agent works through a cycle of understanding, planning, acting, and checking that repeats until the goal is reached. The key is the ability to use tools, that is, to call other applications, APIs, or databases in order to act in the real world rather than merely answer.

How Can Agentic AI Automate Work Across Functions?

The strength of agentic AI lies in its ability to combine many steps from different systems into a single automated workflow. One agent can read data, choose an action, and then perform it in the right application. This flow pattern can serve many functions, not just one department.

For more complex tasks, several agents can work together. For example, one agent researches, one drafts, and one executes in a multi-agent pattern. This is what makes AI agents appealing to businesses. A company can use several agents to complete a process, not just a single chatbot. The potential extends across many functions:

• Finance. Agents resolve routine payment exceptions.
• Supply chain. Agents kick off replanning when demand signals shift.
• HR, procurement, and service. Employee onboarding, routine purchase requests, and the resolution of customer tickets.

Interest in agentic AI shows up in projections from Gartner. Some 40% of enterprise applications are expected to include purpose-built AI agents for tasks by the end of 2026. That is up from less than 5% in 2025. Gartner also expects that by 2027, about a third of agentic deployments will combine several agents with different areas of expertise.

SAP Joule: A Real Example of Agentic AI Inside the ERP

Examples of agentic AI in use already exist in the ERP. Within SAP Business AI, Joule, which began as a generative copilot, now includes Joule Agents, agents with business-process expertise, as well as Joule Assistants, role-based assistants that coordinate those agents. Because they connect to SAP’s entire cloud portfolio, including SAP S/4HANA Cloud, these agents act on accurate business data. They do not rely on general data from the internet.

SAP introduced 14 new Joule Agents at SAP Connect in October 2025. These agents are embedded in finance, HR, procurement, and supply chain processes. The rollout is phased. The SAP Joule adoption roadmap maps everything from data readiness to governance before the agents are used in real processes. Because these agents run on the cloud ERP layer, migrating the ERP to the cloud becomes a key prerequisite.

Three things make it truly agentic in the ERP context:

• Business context is built in. An agent pulls metadata and processes it directly in the ERP, not from another system.
• Action access (tool use). An agent carries out real transactions and work processes. It does more than answer.
• Human-in-the-loop. People set the goals. People approve risky steps. People handle exceptions.

The potential of agentic AI is large, but it is still early. Gartner projects that more than 40% of agentic AI projects will be canceled by the end of 2027. The causes are high costs, unclear business value, and weak risk controls. On the ground, the main obstacles usually relate to data readiness and the limits of an agent’s authority, not to the AI model. For that reason, it is best to start with a single workflow that has clear value. Do not try to automate every process at once.

FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

How is agentic AI different from generative AI?

Generative AI is reactive. It produces content, such as text, code, or images, in response to a prompt. Agentic AI is proactive. It plans and carries out actions toward a goal with minimal oversight. An agentic system typically uses a generative model, such as a large language model, as its reasoning layer. So the two sit on a single spectrum rather than being separate choices.

Will AI agents replace human jobs?

Agentic AI is more likely to shift work than to replace it. Gartner projects that at least 15% of day-to-day work decisions will run autonomously through agentic AI by 2028, up from 0% in 2024. The human role will center on setting goals, approving risky steps, and handling exceptions (human-in-the-loop).

What are SAP Joule Agents?

Joule Agents are AI agents that understand business processes and run cross-functional workflows in SAP Business AI. SAP introduced 14 new Joule Agents at SAP Connect in October 2025. These agents are coordinated by role-based Joule Assistants and are integrated across SAP’s cloud portfolio.

Conclusion

Agentic AI delivers value when a specific workflow is handed to an agent with ready data and clear oversight. Examples already exist in the ERP through Joule Agents. Meanwhile, most organizations are still putting the foundations in place. As an SAP Platinum Partner through United VARs, with experience since 1998, Soltius runs and supports the adoption of SAP Business AI in real business processes. Its services span data-readiness assessment through post-go-live governance.

To discuss the right first workflow to automate with agentic AI through SAP Business AI (Joule), visit soltius.co.id.