Many organizations are moving quickly toward agentic AI, even as governance frameworks lag behind the pace of adoption.

New data from Deloitte’s State of AI in Enterprise report shows that 74% of companies plan to deploy agentic AI within the next two years, while 23% are already using it at least moderately.

Confidence and spending are rising in parallel, with 84% of organizations increasing AI investments and 78% of leaders reporting greater confidence in the technology. Yet only 21% say they currently have a mature governance model in place for autonomous agents.

According to Accounting Today, the gap is especially notable as leaders expect to use agentic AI across a wide range of applications, including physical systems such as package sorting, manufacturing, and security.

Deloitte found that 58% of companies already report at least limited use of physical AI, a figure expected to reach 80% within two years.

The report cautions that physical systems introduce higher stakes, noting that “unlike software AI that operates in digital environments, physical AI systems interact with people, equipment and infrastructure in ways that can pose safety risks if they malfunction or are compromised.”

Governance concerns are also intersecting with growing attention to where AI systems are developed. Deloitte found that 83% of companies view sovereign AI as at least moderately important to their strategy, reflecting unease about reliance on foreign-owned models and infrastructure.

The report concludes that sovereign AI is not just about ownership, but about “strategic independence,” underscoring the need for governance to catch up with ambition as adoption accelerates.