Contrary to fears of AI-driven job losses, a new report from Boston Consulting Group (BCG) suggests the next wave of artificial intelligence could create a massive net expansion of the tech services market. But what exactly is 'agentic AI'?
First, What Is Agentic AI?
Before diving
into market forecasts, it's important to understand what makes agentic AI different from the generative AI tools many have become familiar with. While generative AI is reactive—creating text, images, or code in response to a specific prompt—agentic AI is proactive. Think of it as a digital 'agent' or worker that can understand a goal, break it down into multiple steps, make decisions, and execute complex workflows autonomously. For example, instead of asking AI to 'write an email', you could ask an AI agent to 'organize a team meeting', which it would accomplish by checking calendars, finding a suitable time, sending the invites, and booking a virtual room. This ability to manage entire processes, not just individual tasks, is a significant leap forward.
The $200 Billion Net Opportunity
The core finding of the recent BCG report, 'The Talent Is Already on Your Payroll. The Clock Isn't', is that agentic AI represents a profound growth opportunity. The analysis projects that while AI-led efficiencies may displace around $200 billion in traditional services revenue, the creation of new services will add between $300 billion and $400 billion. This results in a net market expansion of up to $200 billion for technology services by 2030. This growth will be driven by new demands for building, deploying, and managing these complex agentic systems. The report is based on surveys with over 115 enterprise executives and 75 tech service provider executives, revealing that one-third of enterprises are already scaling agentic AI deployments.
Why More AI Means More Work
The idea that more capable AI will create more human work seems counterintuitive, but the BCG report outlines a clear logic. As agentic AI takes over repetitive tasks, it creates a new and more complex layer of required services. Companies will need specialists in 'AI orchestration' to manage teams of digital agents, strategists to design human-agent workflows, and governance experts to set policies and ensure ethical compliance. This shift moves the tech services industry from simply providing outsourced labour for coding and maintenance to offering high-value strategic guidance. The new jobs will focus less on manual execution and more on designing, managing, and optimising AI-driven systems.
The Challenge for India's Tech Giants
For India's massive IT services sector, this is both a crucial challenge and a massive opportunity. The report highlights a significant gap: at traditional tech services firms, only 10–15% of the AI–tagged workforce is focused on 'Applied AI'—the building and deployment of solutions. The other 85–90% are in 'Infused AI' roles, using AI to speed up existing tasks. At AI–native companies, that ratio is flipped, with over 90% in Applied AI roles. To capture the projected $200 billion in new value, Indian firms must pivot from a model based on billing for hours to one based on delivering outcomes. The demand for agentic AI engineers in India has already seen explosive growth, signalling where the market is headed.
Upskilling Is the New Hiring
The report's key message to tech services firms is that they likely already have the people they need, but those employees require significant upskilling. BCG argues that the primary constraint is not a talent shortage but a 'talent decision'. Existing roles like data scientists, full–stack developers, and DevOps engineers can be transitioned into new agentic AI–focused positions such as 'forward–deployed engineer' or 'AI ops engineer'. However,' this requires a dedicated strategy for retraining and creating new career paths. Firms that successfully manage this internal transformation will be best positioned to lead the next era of tech services,' while those that hesitate may fall behind as clients increasingly demand sophisticated agentic AI solutions.
