New report shows 82% of business leaders eyeing further use of AI agents
More than half of business leaders in Singapore are already using AI agents to boost productivity amid a capacity gap in the workforce, according to a new report.
Findings from Microsoft's 2025 Work Trend Index revealed that 56% of Singaporean leaders are already using agents to fully automate workstreams or business processes.
This comes as 58% of leaders believe that productivity must increase, despite 81% of employees and managers saying they don't have enough time or energy to do their work.
Andrea Della Mattea, President of Microsoft ASEAN, said business leaders in Singapore are eyeing further use of AI agents to bridge the capacity gap.
"In Singapore, we're seeing incredible readiness and commitment to AI, with 82% of leaders ready to scale with AI agents and 80% planning to create AI-focused roles," Mattea said in a statement.
In fact, the report further found that 80% of business leaders in Singapore are highly familiar with AI agents, much higher than the 41% of employees who reported similar sentiments.
To address the gap, 51% of managers said they expect AI training or upskilling to be a core responsibility for their teams in the next five years, according to the report. They also expect their team's scope to include:
"By prioritising upskilling, leaders are also ensuring their teams can effectively leverage AI, which is essential for maintaining a competitive edge and driving innovation," Mattea said. "This proactive approach is putting Singapore at the forefront of AI-driven transformation in the region."
The report said this new landscape can lead to employees potentially becoming an "agent boss." In fact, the report found that some employees are already turning to AI agents to access capabilities that humans can't provide, such as:
Karim R. Lakhani, Chair of the Digital, Data, and Design Institute at Harvard, said this shift may also lead to the rise of AI Resources departments.
"As AI democratises access to expertise and intelligence, we'll see the rise of Intelligence Resources departments—much like how HR and IT evolved into core functions," Lakhani said in a statement.
"These new divisions will be essential for managing the interplay between humans and AI agents, emerging as a critical source of competitive advantage in the AI-enabled enterprise."
