This AI shift is starting to replace a key business function

The article describes a rapid shift from AI “copilots” to autonomous AI agents in enterprise sales, with measurable market impact and material risks. The AI SDR market is projected at $5.81 billion in 2026 (32% CAGR) and forecast to reach $15–17.6 billion by 2030; 87% of sales organizations already use AI, reporting ~20% more pipeline and ~30% better conversion. Gartner predicts 40% of enterprise apps will include task-specific agents by end-2026, but warns that >40% of agent projects will fail and 88% of pilots don’t reach production. The piece argues top-of-funnel roles (SDRs, some solutions-engineer tasks) face the most disruption, creating both vendor opportunity for enterprise software/AI platforms and governance, trust and accuracy risks that could limit near-term benefits.