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Kantata · January 2026

State of the Professional Services Industry Report (AI agents survey)

Kantata's State of the Professional Services Industry Report (AI agents survey) (January 2026; n=200, fielded August 2025 (per trade coverage)) found that 87% of PS organizations plan to use AI agents as part of their workforce.

Read the original report ↗Cite2 min read · Summary updated
Gains reported by firms using AI to optimize essential processesPercent of organizations using AI to optimize essential processes, 2026 report
More efficient project execution
54%
Improved proposal quality and win rates
53%
Improved forecast accuracy or utilization
52%
Source: Kantata, State of the Professional Services Industry Report, 2026.

Key findings

  1. 01
    89% agree future revenue growth will depend more on scaling AI than scaling headcount.
  2. 02
    66% have turned down work due to resourcing constraints; 68% cite skill availability as a barrier.
  3. 03
    Only 12% fully trust the data in their systems, down from 24% the prior year.

By the numbers

87%of PS organizations plan to use AI agents as part of their workforce
89%say future revenue growth will depend more on scaling AI than scaling headcount
12%fully trust the data in their systems, down from 24% the prior year
Leaders who fully trust the data in their systemsPercent of professional services leaders, prior-year vs. current survey
Source: Kantata, State of the Professional Services Industry Report, 2026.

What it means for you Draft

For executives at $10–100M companies

The headline is about plans, not results, so it is best read as a signal of where peers' heads are. The more useful number may be the data-trust figure: if we cannot trust our own project and resourcing data, adding AI agents on top will likely amplify the mess rather than fix it.

Limitations

Low trust.Vendor-sponsored (Kantata sells PSA software with AI agents); small sample of 200; limited methodology detail.

About the publisher: Sells professional services software.

Cite the original

Kantata. "State of the Professional Services Industry Report (AI agents survey)." January 8, 2026. https://www.kantata.com/blog/article/kantata-survey-reveals-that-87-of-professional-services-teams-plan-to-manage-ai-agents-as-part-of-their-workforce

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