The Invisible AI Trend: How AI will shift from tool to infrastructure

Summary

This article by Chetan Dube argues that agentic AI is moving beyond being a tool and will become foundational infrastructure for modern organisations. It outlines why businesses must rebuild workflows and operations around autonomous, self-learning agentic systems (Agentic Operating Systems) rather than bolt-on pilots. The piece cites forecasts and studies showing rapid enterprise adoption and warns that fragmented pilots yield poor returns while integrated, human-centred deployments drive competitive advantage.

Key Points

Agentic AI is shifting from an optional tool to core infrastructure that runs and optimises business operations.
Gartner expects ~33% of enterprise applications to include agentic AI by 2028 (up from <1% in 2024).
Nearly 75% of organisations plan to launch agentic AI within two years, signalling mainstream adoption.
Fragmented or pilot-only AI efforts typically deliver poor ROI; full-stack, governed agentic platforms are required for transformation.
Human oversight must remain central: agentics should augment employees and free them from repetitive tasks, not simply replace them.
Early adopters stand to widen profitability and market-share gaps; laggards risk existential pressure.

Context and Relevance

The article places the agentic AI trend in the same historical league as fire, electricity and the Internet — technologies that became invisible infrastructure. For executives and technology leaders, this is a strategic signal: AI will not be a line-item project but the foundation upon which processes, decision-making and customer interactions are rebuilt. The piece connects recent analyst forecasts and academic findings to practical leadership advice: audit workflows, design agentic-native processes, and prioritise governance and workforce transition.

Why should I read this?

Short answer: because if you manage or advise a business, this is your wake-up call. The article cuts through the hype and explains, in plain terms, why piecemeal pilots won’t save you. Read it to get a no-nonsense view of how to start re-engineering operations so AI becomes the platform you run on — not just another app someone installs.

Author style

Punchy and urgent. Dube pushes leaders to act now: this isn’t incremental efficiency, it’s structural change. If you care about staying competitive, the article amplifies why you should prioritise an enterprise-wide, human-centred approach to agentic AI rather than tinkering at the edges.