Business spending on AI hits $177 billion, mostly on AI agents

Companies are spending far more on AI, and most of it now goes to tools that do work rather than just answer questions. Menlo Ventures says business AI spending reached $177 billion, up from $33 billion in 2025. Its partner Deedy Das says AI agents account for 80% of usage.

What changed

An AI agent is software that takes a goal and carries out several steps on its own to reach it. A chatbot waits for a question and gives an answer. An agent can go further and complete a task with less human help.

Menlo Ventures, an investment firm, published the figures in its State of Enterprise AI report. Bloomberg Technology reported Das's comments. The shift he describes is businesses moving beyond simple chatbots toward systems that can finish complex tasks autonomously.

Who it affects

Business owners and managers are the main audience. The tools they buy are changing from helpers that suggest text to systems that act. Employees may also notice more of their routine work handed to software.

What to do

If you run a business, expect AI tools that do whole tasks for you. Before you turn one on, ask a few basic questions:

• What systems, files and accounts can the tool access?
• Who reviews its work before it reaches a customer?
• Who is responsible if it gets something wrong?

What is not known yet

The material does not say how Menlo Ventures measured spending or usage, which industries lead, or how well agents perform in daily work. Those details would help show how far this shift has really gone.