JPMorgan is sharpening its focus on what it sees as the next major wave of automation: AI agents that can take on large parts of white-collar work and redirect spending across the global economy.
In a new thematic note, the bank argues that AI agents have the potential to disrupt a roughly $30 trillion pool of annual salary spend worldwide by automating tasks in areas such as finance, customer management and other corporate functions. Over time, this is likely to shift value away from human labour, legacy software and some service providers, towards companies that sell AI agents and the infrastructure that supports them.
JP Morgan says early evidence suggests the technology is already moving from concept to execution. It points to examples of corporates deploying dozens of AI agents to streamline workflows and unlock earnings upgrades through higher productivity and improved margins.
Within European software, the bank highlights SAP as particularly well placed to monetise the trend. Its entrenched position across large enterprises and broad application portfolio give it a natural route to sell AI agents into existing customer relationships. JP Morgan notes early signs that customers are already experimenting with SAP’s AI tools and starting to see tangible benefits.
The bank also favours Temenos, arguing its deep penetration in financial services positions it to capture value as banks adopt AI agents to automate core processes.
The message is clear: as AI-native entrants gather pace, the winners will be those with scale, data and distribution already embedded inside customer organisations.