By Dr. Ali Alkhafaji, Chief AI & Technology Officer at OPMG
On May 6, ServiceNow announced that its AI-powered Now Assist products have surpassed $250 million in annual contract value, with a trajectory aimed at $1 billion by 2026. That’s not just a milestone; it’s a wake-up call. Enterprises aren’t simply adding AI to their existing software stacks. They’re beginning to reimagine those stacks altogether, trading dashboards for decision-making systems that don’t need a user behind the screen.
This move marks a larger trend, one that’s accelerating fast: the rise of agentic AI. These autonomous systems don’t just assist—they act. Rather than enabling users to execute workflows, agentic AI identifies the tasks, makes the decisions, and carries them out without human intervention. Businesses once reliant on a patchwork of SaaS platforms are starting to bypass those tools altogether, replacing them with intelligent agents that don’t just work faster, but work entirely on their own.
That has major implications for marketers, sales teams, and the broader SaaS ecosystem. Traditional marketing platforms (built to optimize human-led campaigns) are quickly being outpaced by AI agents that need no prompting. These systems can observe customer behavior in real time, personalize outreach based on predictive patterns, generate and test creative assets dynamically, and even close deals, all without a marketer ever logging into a dashboard. And unlike previous generations of automation, these agents aren’t static workflows. They’re adaptable, always learning from live inputs, and always recalibrating.
Visa’s exploration of AI agents capable of independently executing purchases only underscores this point. They signal a growing confidence among major enterprises that AI agents can be trusted with real-time, high-stakes decision-making. When one of the world’s largest payment networks begins testing agents that can autonomously process transactions, it sends a clear message: AI isn’t just analyzing workflows anymore; it’s running them.
The implications go far beyond finance. In marketing, sales, procurement, and operations, companies are starting to imagine what business could look like when the systems in place don’t just support action but take action. It’s no longer speculative. The AI-first enterprise is coming into focus, and the organizations that begin integrating agentic systems now—through experimentation, infrastructure shifts, and strategic rethinking—will position themselves as the architects of a new competitive landscape defined by speed, adaptability, and intelligence at scale.
So where should marketers begin? One smart move is to start small, with controlled pilot programs. A campaign management workflow or lead qualification process, for instance, can be a good testbed for experimenting with AI agents that work semi-independently. These experiments help organizations understand how agentic systems behave, where their strengths lie, and where guardrails may still be needed.
It’s also worth reevaluating the current SaaS stack. Which platforms are truly indispensable and which are simply familiar? As AI agents take on more responsibilities, many existing tools may prove redundant or inefficient by comparison. Companies should begin identifying opportunities to transition from platform-centric operations to outcome-driven strategies powered by autonomous intelligence.
Partnering with AI-native vendors is another step forward. Rather than retrofitting AI into legacy tools, these newer providers are designing systems from the ground up to accommodate agentic workflows. This shift in design philosophy—away from user-centered interfaces and toward task-completion logic—will define the next wave of competitive differentiation in martech and adtech.
As agentic AI gains ground, the marketer’s role will change, too. Success won’t hinge on managing tools but on orchestrating intelligent agents: shaping their goals, feeding them the right data, and overseeing the outcomes they generate. Human creativity, strategic insight, and ethical oversight will still be essential, but the interface will fade. The future belongs to those who can guide the intelligence, not just operate the software.
SaaS isn’t going away tomorrow, but its dominance is already under pressure. What’s coming next isn’t a new app. It’s a new paradigm. And the companies that embrace it early won’t just stay competitive. They’ll redefine what it means to compete.
About the Author
Dr. Ali Alkhafaji, Chief AI & Technology Officer at OPMG, is a seasoned leader with over 25 years of experience in corporate strategy and digital transformation, specializing in leveraging AI and emerging technology to drive vision and innovation across global enterprises. Renowned for a proven track record in accelerating growth and market presence by engaging extensively with clients, analysts and partners, Dr. Ali is highly skilled at fostering transformative digital strategies, leading distributed teams to achieve exceptional results.
