Causal AI is gaining momentum, with seven in 10 enterprise artificial intelligence professionals either using, experimenting with or planning to adopt it by 2026. That surge in interest reflects a growing demand for systems that don’t just respond, but explain: AI that can reason, justify its decisions and build trust with the humans it serves. As companies evolve beyond generative AI’s headline-grabbing outputs toward more functional, dependable AI architectures, agentic AI systems and causal intelligence emerge as essential components of enterprise-grade solutions.

Gen AI has delivered a wave of experimentation, but many organizations still struggle to extract a measurable return on investment, according to Scott Hebner, principal analyst for AI and senior market advisor at SiliconANGLE Media and theCUBE Research. The next chapter of AI — rooted in agentic AI systems that can act, learn and adapt — requires deeper context, domain expertise and, above all, trust. Leaders increasingly recognize that large language models alone won’t deliver the outcomes they need.

“Trust is now the currency of innovation,” Hebner said. “No trust, no ROI.”

Those pressing questions — from explainability to architecture — will take center stage during theCUBE’s AI Agent Builder Summit, an exclusive digital event from theCUBE Research streaming live on April 16. Hosted by Hebner, the summit will spotlight enterprise pioneers’ best practices and real-world solutions, including Sema4.ai Inc., AgilePoint Inc., Ascendion Inc., Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu LLC and more. Join theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio, as we bring together industry analysts, developers and decision-makers to explore the architectures, workflows and breakthroughs defining the next wave of enterprise AI. (* Disclosure below.)

Check out what’s in store for theCUBE’s coverage of the AI Agent Builder Summit:

From large language models to agentic AI systems that know, act and adapt

Despite the widespread adoption of gen AI tools — 74% of enterprises have deployed them, according to Enterprise Technology Research tracking surveys — most organizations are still stuck on the lower rungs of the AI value ladder, according to Hebner. While gen AI has empowered workers to brainstorm and automate simple tasks, fewer than 15% of enterprises are applying AI to decision intelligence or complex workflows. That gap between experimentation and transformation is precisely where agentic AI systems aim to deliver.

“Assistants anchored in generative AI are task-oriented: Give them a prompt, and they perform the task,” Hebner said. “But agents empower users to understand and achieve specific goals, modeling precise chains of events and outcomes.”

Agentic AI represents a fundamental shift in enterprise computing, from reactive tools to proactive systems that can reason, collaborate and evolve alongside their human counterparts. Instead of relying on hand-coded logic and rigid rules, organizations are beginning to explore agents that learn autonomously and operate within dynamic workflows, according to theCUBE Research’s George Gilbert.

“For 60 years, we’ve built software applications by hand-coding rules procedurally,” he said. “Agentic AI fundamentally shifts this paradigm, empowering software to learn the rules of business processes autonomously.”

Eight in 10 enterprises plan to deploy agentic systems, yet only one in three understand the strategic roadmap required to get there, according to theCUBE’s Research. That knowledge gap — between intent and execution — is one of the biggest barriers to realizing measurable ROI from agentic AI and causal AI initiatives. It’s why frameworks such as the “ladder to agentic AI” have emerged, offering organizations a phased approach that begins with foundational fine-tuning and culminates in adaptive, goal-driven agents that work in teams, according to Hebner.

Another foundational component is explainability. As AI systems increasingly assist with high-stakes decisions, enterprises must ensure those decisions can be understood and defended. Enter causal AI — a method prized for its transparency and interpretability, according to Hebner. A recent survey by Dataiku and Databricks found that only 16% of organizations currently use causal AI, but 70% plan to by 2026. That momentum reflects a growing recognition that AI must know not just what to do, but why it does it.

“Correlation doesn’t necessarily imply causation, and a prediction is not a judgment,” Hebner said. “You need judgments to make decisions.”

Major vendors are responding to that demand. TheCUBE Research is currently tracking more than 20 companies building causal AI platforms. Tech giants from IBM Corp. to Microsoft Corp. are investing in human-interpretable decision support systems, according to Hebner. These advancements offer a glimpse into a future where AI agents don’t just automate: They collaborate, explain and earn trust.

“What our customers want is not another AI technology; they want to make better decisions,” Stuart Frost, chief executive officer and founder of Gemino Software, recently told Hebner. “Once you start going down that path of causal AI as opposed to correlational AI, you never go back. It’s just better.”

That future is expected to take center stage at the AI Agent Builder Summit — a convergence of agentic AI systems, insights and strategies built for trust, clarity and measurable ROI.

TheCUBE event livestream

Don’t miss theCUBE’s coverage of the AI Agent Builder Summit on April 16. Plus, you can watch theCUBE’s event coverage on-demand after the live event.

How to watch theCUBE interviews

We offer you various ways to watch theCUBE’s coverage of the AI Agent Builder Summit, including theCUBE’s dedicated website and YouTube channel. You can also get all the coverage from this year’s events on SiliconANGLE.

TheCUBE Insights podcast

SiliconANGLE also has podcasts available of archived interview sessions, available on iTunes, Stitcher and Spotify, which you can enjoy while on the go.

SiliconANGLE also has analyst deep dives in our Breaking Analysis podcast, available on iTunes, Stitcher and Spotify.

Guests

During the AI Agent Builder Summit, theCUBE analysts will talk with industry analysts, developers and decision-makers to explore the architectures, workflows and breakthroughs defining the next wave of enterprise AI. Don’t miss all the insights.

(* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for the AI Agent Builder Summit event. Neither the sponsors of theCUBE’s event coverage nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Image: SiliconANGLE