Professional Services hits Inflection point with AI Agents

Kantata has published the State of Professional Services Industry report and found that the industry is undergoing significant change, with AI as a catalyst. The report is based on a Censuswide survey of 200 respondents conducted in August 2025. The survey sample consisted solely of business leaders from US professional services firms.

There is little doubt that AI is the latest technological revolution that will change how people work in the future. Professional Services is no exception, and the survey found that 87% of organisations are planning to manage AI agents as part of their delivery workforce. AI and the changing nature of industry are also affecting other areas, with 63% unsure what skills will be needed over the coming six months.

The report identifies three key themes: Resourcing, Delivery and Data. The findings underpin the message that AI is already fundamentally changing the nature of the professional services industry. It is also important to understand that AI in other industries is also changing the approach that professional services organisations must take.

Michael Speranza, CEO of Kantata, commented, “The State of the Professional Services Industry report reveals a sector at an inflection point. The conditions that defined success in professional services for decades no longer apply.

“Artificial intelligence isn’t just knocking on the door of service delivery anymore. It’s already inside, rearranging the furniture. It’s reshaping how work gets done, how value is created, and how firms compete.”

What is in the report

The 20-page report is divided into three main sections, each focusing on one theme. There is a foreword by Speranza, followed by a summary of each theme, and the report ends with a brief conclusion. Each section is divided into three parts. These examine the challenges and opportunities, then offer a brief look at the future and a list of actions leaders should consider.

These nine actions in the report are the key takeaways and are worth reading. They are vendor independent and provide clear direction for professional services leaders as they adjust their organisations for a world powered by humans and AI.

Each section includes quantitative survey data, along with commentary and analysis. However, the report includes no quotations from industry leaders, respondents, or Kantata execs to strengthen its messages. It is a shortcoming of basing findings solely on a quantitative survey, and the report could have been strengthened with some quotes.

For professional services firms, resourcing is now a challenge spanning both human and AI capacity. More than 66% of professional services organisations report turning down work due to resourcing constraints. Additionally, the share of leaders citing skill availability as a barrier has climbed to 68%, up from 45% the previous year. That statistic signals that talent shortages are intensifying rather than easing.

Resourcing

The introduction of Agentic AI has changed how resourcing works. The survey found that 32% can only forecast the skills they require one to two months in advance, an increase of 10% from last year. That rapid pace of change is a human challenge.

The impact is huge: 66% of firms turn down work because they don’t have the right resources. Forecasting requirements are getting harder. 68% expect skill availability to be a barrier in the months ahead, compared to 45% the previous year.

Can AI provide an answer? AI Agents are becoming pervasive, with 87% looking to actively manage them, but there are challenges. 27% are unsure how to integrate AI Agents into delivery workflows; overcoming this challenge is essential to their success. The report does not consider how AI can help with resource forecasting, though it definitely can.

The section concludes by arguing that business leaders need to adopt a hybrid approach, outlining actions that can help firms overcome the resource-uncertainty issues they face. Beyond the scope of the report is the fact that a hybrid workforce needs skilled employees.

While AI can handle much of the mundane work, organisations need to consider their future workforce, how they will nurture expertise, and how they will train the next generation of talent.

Delivery

For several years, client expectations have been increasing; they want more with less. This year is no exception; customer expectations are increasing across quality (72%), delivery speed (51%) and transparency (47%).

Internally, business leaders are more focused on maintaining margins (70%) than on driving topline growth (62%). In addition, margin pressure has overtaken utilisation as a key concern. The concern is supported by projects that have failed to meet budgets. 89% of organisations face challenges managing projects to timeline and budget, up from 72% last year.

Sadly, without a qualitative response, the survey did not delve into the reasons for this. The reasons are likely familiar, with ProSymmetry pointing out familiar causes in a recent blog:

• Shifting or unclear requirements
• Underestimating complexity
• Insufficient testing before going live
• Weak governance or stakeholder alignment
• Over-optimism in budgets and timelines
• Lack of post-launch support and planning

The report highlights how organisations can improve margins through outcome-based pricing. It notes that 46% of organisations are already using it, with only 3% not planning to support it. Importantly, outcome-based pricing might engage customers better, helping to deliver better projects.

The authors believe that “Firms that weave AI-driven insights and automation into their delivery operations will be the first to fully reap the benefits of outcome-based pricing to align outputs with measurable, transparent value.”

Looking forward, organisations that integrate AI seamlessly into operations are likely to succeed, with Kantata providing actions on how this might be achieved.

Data

AI relies on data, and organisations have a lot of it. Data quality is an issue, with only 12% fully trusting their data. As organisations look to adopt AI, this causes an issue. While AI is trained on vast amounts of data, 88% trust AI outputs for operational decisions, yet 89% spend time verifying those outputs. Can organisations trust AI and the data it is based on enough to realise the full savings it promises?

Kantata’s recently announced Knowledge Graph offers the promise of an industry-specific LLM for professional services, using curated data across sectors and even firm- and client-specific data to provide insights and actions that can be trusted. This industry-specific AI-powered technology could become the foundation of competitive advantage in the professional services sector.

Looking ahead, organisations need to better understand the connection between humans and AI within their operations. They need to view data as critical to the future, not just for historical reporting, with greater emphasis on its accuracy. They also need to ensure they have the right systems in place. Systems that augment their organisation as well as merely support it.

Kantata, with innovative elements such as Pulse, a project health measurement tool, offers leading PSA solutions that can help.

Enterprise Times: What does this mean

Speranza concluded with some wise words for professional services leaders. He said, “This moment isn’t about technology alone — it’s about leadership. Every services firm can see the same forces at work. The difference will come down to the choices leaders make now: whether they use AI to optimize around the edges, or to fundamentally raise the bar on how their firm delivers value, proves expertise, and competes.”

With the majority of professional services firms appearing to embrace AI, the winners are likely those that can leverage the technology effectively. Paying lip service or dabbling with AI is unlikely to be enough. The winning firms will likely invest sensibly and yet comprehensively.

They will combine technology with the development of a culture that not only builds the skills required for the future, but also builds the next generation of talent for their organisation.

However, it is the arrival of AI Agents that is changing the industry fundamentally. Organisations must prepare themselves for this change, embrace it and drive its integration into operations to ensure success, and even survival. Kantata might have improved this report, by adding a list of questions to each section alongside the actions for business leaders to reflect on. For instance:

• How is your organisation improving resource forecasting in 2026?
• What changes are you making that will impact margin?
• What is your level of trust in your AI insights, and how could it be higher?

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