THE AI INTERVIEW

proportion of ServiceNow employees who use AI tools confidently

For enterprises, this represents far more than a technology upgrade. It is a fundamental redesign of how work gets done.

“ Agentic AI is shifting AI from being just a bolt-on tool to an operational interface,” Adam says.“ That means enterprises must design operations where AI orchestrates workflows and supports real-time decision-making, rather than sitting on top of existing legacy infrastructure.”

The implications are significant. Organisations that have deferred modernisation now find that the cost of delay is rising faster than ever.

“ Companies that hesitate aren’ t just missing out on automation benefits today,” Adam warns.“ They’ re building a deficit that grows exponentially as AI capabilities advance.”

Making the shift to an operational interface demands stronger foundations, with fragmented data, outdated systems and siloed processes all limiting AI’ s impact.

Adam emphasises that organisations must modernise deliberately and build AI-ready environments that can evolve as capabilities and expectations accelerate.

The compounding cost of delay If agentic AI is the opportunity, technical debt is the obstacle. Adam has coined a term for the specific strain of this problem that he sees most often in enterprise settings:“ forward-looking technical debt” – in other words, the compounding cost of delay and hesitation in AI adoption.

“ As organisations layer AI onto fragile, outdated architectures, these small compromises quietly accumulate into a structural barrier that limits

26 March 2026