A new report by the Capgemini Research Institute forecasts a rapid acceleration in the adoption of agentic AI across the public sector, with 90% of organisations planning to explore, pilot, or implement such systems within the next two to three years. Agentic AI refers to systems capable of making autonomous decisions and performing actions without human intervention.
Titled “Data foundations for government – From AI ambition to execution,” the report notes that the rise in adoption comes despite significant challenges around data readiness, trust, and infrastructure maturity.
Defence, healthcare, and security lead Gen AI adoption
The study reveals that 64% of public sector organisations are already experimenting with or deploying generative AI to improve service delivery. Sectors such as defence (82%), healthcare (75%), and security (70%) are among the most active in exploring generative AI use cases.
However, the transition to agentic AI is still in its early stages. The report shows that 39% of organisations plan to evaluate agentic AI feasibility, 45% aim to pilot initiatives, and 6% intend to scale up existing programmes within the same period. These plans span across government levels and departments.
Data readiness and trust in AI remain key challenges
Only 21% of public sector bodies have the quality of data required to train and fine-tune AI models, underlining the critical gap between AI ambition and execution. Furthermore, 79% of executives cite data security as a major concern, while 74% report limited trust in AI-generated results.
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Organisational capability is another area of concern. Just 12% of respondents say they are mature in activating data, and only 7% claim maturity in AI and data-related skill development. Although data sharing is widely acknowledged as essential, 65% of organisations remain at the planning or pilot stage due to concerns around cloud adoption, AI sovereignty, and data privacy.
Governments ramp up leadership in data and AI
To address these barriers, governments are increasingly appointing dedicated leadership. The report notes that 64% of public sector entities already have a Chief Data Officer (CDO) in place, with 24% planning to add one. Additionally, 27% of organisations currently have a Chief AI Officer (CAIO), while another 41% intend to introduce this role soon.
The report concludes that while agentic AI holds strong potential to augment public sector operations, its success depends on the establishment of robust data infrastructure, trust mechanisms, and a culture of AI and data literacy across government entities.
