OutSystems: AI agents are mainstream, but 94% fear sprawl

OutSystems published its global State of AI Development 2026 on April 13, and the numbers suggest agentic AI has moved from experiment to production. 96% of organizations say they already use AI agents in some form, and 97% are now exploring system-wide agentic AI strategies.

At the same time, the optimism comes with a clear warning. Fully 94% say AI sprawl is increasing complexity, technical debt and security risk. Only a minority have established a centralized governance model, while many teams and regions are still building their own agent setups in parallel.

The report surveyed nearly 1,900 IT leaders globally and also shows rising maturity: 49% describe their agentic AI capabilities as advanced or expert, and 52% say they now use a human-on-the-loop model with reduced direct oversight.

For CIOs, this is a meaningful signal. The next phase is not just about deploying more agents, but about architecture, security and governance that prevent the agent portfolio from turning into a new shadow IT problem.

Source: OutSystems, State of AI Development 2026 via PR Newswire, April 13, 2026.