1. Learn from the world’s leading AI thinkers
One of the best ways to grasp agentic AI is to learn from thought leaders who are helping organizations apply it to real-world business challenges. Among the most respected voices guiding C-suite leaders is Cassie Kozyrkov, Google’s first Chief Decision Scientist and now CEO of Kozyr, helps leaders see AI as a tool for better human judgment, not as a replacement for it.A renowned leader in the field of artificial intelligence, and best known for founding the field of Decision Intelligence, the science of using data to solve problems, Cassie is particularly passionate about helping leaders move beyond the hype to see AI as an amplifier of human decision-making and creativity.She added: “[Agentic AI agents] aren’t waiting for your instructions each time there’s a task to be done. They’re set up to proactively figure out a plan and solution for the goal you give them. They’re optimizing marketing, reshaping operations, rewriting legal strategy, and coordinating across silos — all in real time, often without checking back in.”Her research and courses encourage leaders to view AI not just as technology, but as an avenue to make smarter, faster, and more confident decisions.
2. Align investments with market direction
As 2026 kicks into gear, business leaders are eager to optimize their spending. Where should they increase, decrease, or experiment? Will their budget help them keep pace with their peers, thrive amid market volatility, and navigate an evolving technology landscape?Though these answers aren’t clear across the board, one thing is certain: AI investment is accelerating. Forrester reports that 67% of enterprise decision-makers plan to increase AI investment this year, and agentic AI is at the center of that momentum.Agentic AI will no longer be a novelty; it will be central to organizations’ ability to innovate and increase efficiency. According to Forrester, agentic AI’s “ability to manage complex, mission-critical tasks autonomously could drastically redefine operation models, providing early adopters with a decisive edge.”Forrester Principal Analyst Max Ball notes that the convergence of CCaaS and conversational AI is redefining the contact center, unlocking new ways to connect data, insights, and workflows. In an environment traditionally rife with manual, repetitive processes, agentic AI opens the possibility for connected, autonomous systems that drive both efficiency and growth.Whether it’s freeing human agents from operational minutia so they can focus on building a relationship with the customer, or managing simple customer interactions end-to-end, agentic AI can help brands create superior customer experiences. In fact, 55.3% of companies already use agentic AI for proactive interactions, and that’s just the beginning.Understanding where the market is headed helps you prioritize intelligently and prove your ROI more quickly. Forrester’s Budget Planning Guide 2026: Customer Experience outlines where forward-thinking leaders are investing to deliver efficiency, satisfaction, and loyalty.3. Build your blueprint for AI at scale
Leading organizations design intelligent systems that deliver seamless, personalized experiences and drive enterprise-scale transformation. They’re creating environments where AI and humans collaborate seamlessly. Agentic AI resolves complex workflows across the front and back office, freeing employees to focus on the moments that matter most.Your success with AI hinges on strategy and technology. You need to know the use cases you want to solve and the business outcomes you aim to achieve with agentic AI, and a platform helps to turn that vision into reality.That’s where NiCE CXone Mpower comes in. Built on a unified AI architecture, it connects every workflow, every agent, and every insight so intelligence stays consistent, adoption stays seamless, and performance scales effortlessly.As NiCE CEO Scott Russell puts it: “Agentic AI is our superpower—embedded across everything we do to drive smarter innovation and measurable impact.”CXone Mpower uses real-time reasoning to intelligently automate customer workflows, leveraging billions of real interactions and rich behavioral data. Its agentic AI is designed to think through problems, act across channels, and keep conversations natural and human.But the human touch is as critical to the customer experience as ever. That’s why the best agentic AI blueprints opt for augmentation over replacement. AI and humans collaborate as AI agents resolve complex customer workflows across the front and back office and use technology that ensures a human-like experience. This includes capabilities like:- Progressive reasoning that decomposes complex requests on the fly as customers speak in natural language
- Contextual memory that remembers information within a conversation (short-term memory) and across multiple interactions (long-term memory), just like a human agent would
- Empathic intelligence that detects tone and sentiment, can switch topics, and engage in natural, flowing conversations that follow where customers lead
“Our platform lets systems think through problems, make decisions, and act across channels while keeping every conversation natural and human.”Ready to build your blueprint? Here are some tips:
- See agentic AI in action — watch demos, talk to peers, and imagine how it fits your workflows.
- Identify friction — look for repetitive tasks that don’t require human judgment.
- Connect front- and back-office data for a full view of customer intent to resolution.
- Start small, iterate often, scale confidently.
- Keep learning from leaders, competitors, and your own data.
4. Learn from top brands already leading the way
Though many companies are just getting started, industry leaders are already transforming their operations using agentic AI and reaping tangible benefits. As they say, “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,” so learn from these trailblazers’ successes and see where they gained a few best practices along the way.Global innovators like adidas exemplify what’s possible when agentic AI and conversational AI work in unison. By connecting data, insights, and workflows, adidas has turned efficiency and personalization into measurable growth. Their results prove that when AI and people thrive together, the result isn’t just automation, it’s acceleration.Their approach shows how technology and people thrive together to create service that’s fast, seamless, and personal. That’s a NiCE world in action.5. Dive deeper into the power of agentic AI at one premiere event
Agentic AI is unlocking new business opportunities, new ways of working, new levels of CX greatness. Ready to experience it for yourself?Join NiCE + Cognigy for Unleash AI. Reimagine CX. – the one-hour premiere launch event bringing together the brightest minds in AI and CX:- Cassie Kozyrkov on leading with clarity in the AI era
- Forrester’s Max Ball on aligning AI investment for maximum ROI
- NiCE executives Scott Russell and Phil Heltewig on scaling AI for measurable impact
- adidas leaders, Angel Tania and Stijn Bannier, on using agentic AI to turn efficiency into loyalty and growth
