A recent survey commissioned by Tray.io has shed light on the state of AI agent development strategies in the enterprise. According to the findings, while AI agents hold transformative potential, enterprises still face significant hurdles in deploying them effectively.

One of the biggest obstacles is the need for upgrades to existing technology stacks as 86% of enterprises said there was a need for modernization. Integration challenges are also widespread. The survey had 42% of respondents who said they require connections to eight or more data sources to deploy AI agents successfully. Security concerns are also a top challenge, cited by 53% of leadership and 62% of practitioners - underscoring the importance of robust data governance.

“Enterprises are navigating an increasingly crowded sea of AI-enabled SaaS (News - Alert) applications and confronting a perfect storm of integration complexity and organizational barriers,” said Rich Waldron, co-founder and CEO of Tray.ai. “The survey reveals an inflection point for enterprise AI adoption — while more than two-thirds of organizations expect AI agents to power more than a quarter of their core processes by 2025, they're realizing that success requires rethinking how they handle data integration, security and accessibility across systems.”

The survey also reveals ambitious plans for AI agent development, as 42% of enterprises said they aim to build over 100 prototypes, and 68% said they will allocate $500,000 or more annually to these initiatives. However, nearly half of respondents also admitted their current integration platforms are only "somewhat ready" to meet AI’s data demands.

To tackle these challenges, many are adopting hybrid approaches. However, these methods often struggle to ensure seamless connectivity and scalability.

Enterprises are leveraging AI agents to address key business challenges, with top use cases including IT service desk automation (61%), data analytics (40%), and code development/testing (36%). Customer satisfaction is another priority, with 49% of respondents emphasizing its importance as a success metric. Additionally, enterprises are focusing on driving cost reductions (64%) and increasing process automation (52%) through AI initiatives.

“The next generation of iPaaS solutions must rise to meet the unique demands of AI. Organizations are realizing that the real challenge isn’t just deploying individual AI agents, but creating a truly AI-ready environment that can support their expanding needs in a rapidly changing tech environment,” said Waldron. “To truly unlock the potential of AI agents, enterprises must move beyond a fragmented approach and embrace unified, composable platforms that can break down silos, streamline complex workflows and provide a foundation for AI success at scale. Those who fail to address these challenges risk being left behind in an increasingly AI-driven business landscape.”