38% of tech readers haven’t used AI agents; 25% unaware

A newsletter poll of digitally engaged tech readers found 38.46% had never used an AI agent, 24.79% said they did not know what an AI agent is, and 36.75% reported having used one. The poll sampled readers who follow AI, crypto and emerging technology.

An AI agent is software that can plan and carry out multi-step tasks, use external tools, browse the web, write and run code, manage files, send emails and make decisions on a user’s behalf. That differs from single-prompt language model interactions that return answers to individual queries.

Market research values the global AI agent market at $12.06 billion in 2026, up from $8.29 billion in 2025, with a projection to reach $53.2 billion by 2030 at a compound annual growth rate of about 44.9%. Other long-term forecasts vary, including one estimate of $182.97 billion.

Enterprise adoption is increasing. A 2025 survey found 88% of organizations use AI in at least one function, up from 78% the prior year. The same survey reported 62% of organizations are at least experimenting with AI agents and 23% are actively scaling them. A market forecast expects 40% of enterprise applications to embed task-specific AI agents by 2026, up from less than 5% in 2025.

Surveys of professionals list top agent use cases as research and summarization, personal productivity and workflow automation, and customer service and ticket resolution. One survey reported about 90% of non-technology companies either use or plan to use AI agents, similar to the technology sector.

Security, cost and integration are common concerns. One analysis projects more than 40% of agentic AI projects may be canceled by the end of 2027, citing rising costs, uncertain business value and weak risk controls. A survey of U.S. IT executives at large companies found 56% named IT security as the top concern, followed by implementation cost at 37% and integration with existing systems at 35%. Those executives ranked safety and privacy ahead of regulatory compliance and system integration for effective implementation.

Combined, the poll responses show roughly 63% of the sampled readers either have not used an AI agent or do not know the term. About 36.75% reported prior use. The poll provides a data point on awareness and hands-on experience among a readership that follows AI topics regularly.