Government agencies are increasingly adopting artificial intelligence (AI) agents and expect the technology to fundamentally transform their operations, according to a new study released on Mar. 26. The IDC survey found that 82% of U.S. federal, state, and local government organizations have already implemented AI agents, with many leaders saying they are ahead of the private sector in this area.
The findings suggest a significant shift in how government views and uses AI. While public agencies have often been seen as slow to adopt new technologies, the survey results indicate they now see agentic AI—autonomous digital workers capable of reasoning and action—as central to their mission delivery and national competitiveness.
Paul Tatum, Executive Vice President for Public Sector Solutions at Salesforce, said: “Government leaders no longer see AI as a back-office experiment. They see it as a critical pillar of national competitiveness and service delivery. In today’s landscape, integrating agentic AI is now mission critical.”
The study highlighted several anticipated impacts from agentic AI adoption. A majority (56%) of surveyed leaders believe agentic AI will have an even greater impact on government than the rise of the internet or cloud computing; 71% plan to increase use within the next year; and 94% believe these systems will fundamentally change work itself. Leaders identified fraud detection (44%), cybersecurity threat management (36%), social benefits management (24%), public safety (22%), and defense applications like predictive intelligence (22%) as top areas where they expect substantial improvements.
Workforce transformation is another key theme in the research. Nearly nine out of ten respondents agree that humans will work alongside AI agents in future public sector roles; most expect employees to be assigned an AI agent within five years. Tatum said: “We are past the point of experimentation; the agentic era has arrived. For government leaders to truly deliver, they must prioritize the human and strategic elements — bringing their workforce along and selecting the right foundation.”
According to IDC’s survey methodology notes included in its March 2026 Resource Map Document (#US54433326_RMD), responses were gathered from 118 U.S.-based decision makers across federal, state, and local governments who play leading roles in agency-level decisions about adopting or investing in artificial intelligence.
