From Agentic AI to Agentic Automation: Turning Intelligence into Real-Time Impact

Tim Butchart, CEO, TrustPortal 

December 2025

When Karen Abramson, CEO of Wolters Kluwer Corporate Performance & ESG, wrote in Forbes Technology Council that “95% of generative AI pilots fail to show measurable business impact”, she was right to point to the next evolution: Agentic AI, as the breakthrough many are now watching. 

It’s a sharp insight and it’s also a timely reminder that while Agentic AI holds immense promise, organisations still face a fundamental gap between potential and proven value. 

That’s where Agentic Automation and specifically real-time Agentic Automation becomes critical. 

What Agentic AI Promises 

Let’s start with definition and reality. 

Agentic AI is the next stage in AI evolution: intelligent systems that can act, reason, and make decisions independently, without being explicitly told every step. 

Instead of static scripts, you have AI “agents” capable of: 

• Understanding objectives 

• Planning tasks dynamically 

• Executing across multiple tools and systems 

• Learning from outcomes 

In principle, that means an AI could manage a procurement workflow, triage customer queries, or even schedule logistics; without a human pressing ‘go’ each time. Now, here’s the catch: while Agentic AI can think, it often can’t connect. 

Enterprises live inside legacy systems, fragmented databases, strict compliance rules, and complex approval chains. Plugging autonomous AI into that ecosystem isn’t simple; it’s risky. That’s why, as Abramson rightly highlights, governance, transparency, and adaptability are non-negotiable. 

Where Most Enterprises Stall 

Across industries, we’re seeing the same pattern: 

• A promising AI pilot produces a demo, not a deliverable. 

• The proof of concept is isolated from the live environment. 

• Integrating with legacy systems becomes the blocker. 

• Compliance, security, and auditability stop full deployment. 

The result? Exciting PowerPoints. Few production rollouts. 

It’s not that Agentic AI can’t deliver value; it’s that it can’t yet operate at the real-time, cross-system level most organisations require. 

What Real-Time Agentic Automation Delivers 

That’s the space where TrustPortal operates: not replacing people or legacy systems, but giving them real-time, intelligent co-ordination. 

We define real-time Agentic Automation as: 

The orchestration of human and digital agents working in synchrony, across any and all legacy systems, with zero code rewrites and full governance. 

In practice, this means that instead of deploying a standalone “AI brain,” you deploy Agentic logic inside the operational fabric of your business. 

Real-time Agentic Automation delivers: 

• Instant execution across multiple systems – finance, CRM, BPM, ITSM, claims, CX, and HR — all triggered and completed in seconds. 

• Governed autonomy – every action auditable, every step visible, every data flow compliant. 

• Human-in-the-loop control – staff retain oversight while digital agents handle the complexity. 

• Seamless integration – connecting legacy and modern systems without ripping anything out. 

A Real-World Example 

Consider a national insurance provider handling thousands of customer complaints. 

In a traditional setup: 

• Agents toggle between five or six systems to validate policies, update claims, log cases, and send updates. 

• Each step is manual, error-prone, and time-consuming. 

Now, layer in real-time Agentic Automation: 

• A digital agent orchestrates all those back-end actions instantly. 

• The human agent sees one real-time interface that shows progress, prompts next actions, and completes the case before the call ends. 

• No system switching. No duplicate entries. No delay. 

That’s agentic intelligence in action; governed, explainable, and operating in real time across the systems that already exist. 

The result? Complaint resolution times drop from days to minutes. Agent stress falls. Customer satisfaction rises. ROI is visible within weeks. 

Where Agentic Automation Fits in the Enterprise 

Agentic Automation doesn’t replace AI strategy, it grounds it. It’s the operational layer that connects cognitive potential to measurable performance. 

Here’s how it fits: 

• AI & Data Teams: Continue advancing models and analytics. 

• Operations & CX Leaders: Apply Agentic Automation to orchestrate those insights into action. 

• IT & Governance: Gain full control, audit, and adaptability across connected systems. 

In short, it’s the execution engine for the Agentic era; the bridge between intelligence and outcome. 

The Real Future: Governed, Real-Time Collaboration Between Humans and Machines 

The future of enterprise AI won’t be defined by autonomy alone, but by accountable orchestration. 

Agentic AI will continue to advance, learning, reasoning, planning. But Agentic Automation - especially in real time, across legacy infrastructure, is what turns those capabilities into dependable business performance today. 

At TrustPortal, we believe progress isn’t measured by how autonomous machines become; it’s measured by how much more effective people and organisations can be when automation is transparent, governed, and instantly connected. 

That’s the kind of intelligence enterprises can trust. 

Tim Butchart 

CEO, TrustPortal 

December 2025

Acknowledgements: Karen Abramson, Wolters Kluwer, Forbes Technology Council,