mckinsey -智能自主转型办公室：重新定义变革经济学 The agentic transformation office Redefining the economics of change

September2026

McKinsey

&Company

McKinseyTransformationPractice

Theagentic

transformationoffice:

Redefiningtheeconomicsofchange

Successfultransformationsnolongerrequireanarmyofpeopleatthecenter.byChaseCovington,DavidPralong,andTomerSlaney

Thetransformationoffice(TO)hasadirtysecret.Theveryfunctionchargedwithdrivingradicalchangeacrosstheenterpriseisoftenoneoftheslowesttoadoptmoderntoolsand

technologies—anotableholdoutevenasagenticAIispoisedtotransformsectorsand

economies.WhileTOstrytopushanorganizationtowardspeedandagility,weoftenseethoseofficesrunningonmanuallyassembledslidedecksandfragmenteddatasources.

Theironyhasrealconsequences.Resourcesareconsumedbypredictableadministrativetasks.Criticalinsightsarrivetoolate.Strategicnarrativesdriftacrossworkstreams.Leadership

conversationsbecomereactivefirefightingratherthanproactivesteering.Strainingto

compensateforcentralcapacitylimits,individualworkstreamsbeginbuildingtheirownshadowtoolsandreports—furtherfragmentingdataanalysesandunderminingconsistency.

Thepast12monthshaveseenadramaticshiftinwhatartificialintelligencecando.Forafew

leadingTOs,simplechatbotshaveevolvedintoautonomousAIagentscapableofexecuting

multistepbusinessprocessesfromstarttofinish.Theseautonomoustoolsarealready

demonstratinggame-changingvalue;theycontinuouslyspotperformancegaps,maintaina

singlesourceoftruth,andsparktherightexecutiveconversationsatarapidweeklycadence.

Theyfreeuphumanbandwidth—aTO’sultimateconstraint.Timespentonmanycoretaskscanbereducedby35to40percent.Insomecases,we’veseentimesavingsof70percentormore.

AswithotherapplicationsofAI,thefullpotentialofagenticAIisevolvingrapidlyand,inmanyinstances,unevenly.ThisarticleprovidesafirstlookattheopportunityforTOs.Wesharewhatwearecurrentlyseeingintransformations,whatteamshavealreadybegundeploying,andthefirststepstowardbuildinganearlyplaybook.

ThestructuralceilingofthetraditionalTO

Theveryfunctionresponsiblefordrivingchangeandimprovementacrosstheorganizationisoftenthemostresistanttoupdatingitsownlegacytechnologyandtools.That’sfrustratinginanycontext.ButforagenticAI,theconsequencesarefargreater.

Thebottleneckofmanualtracking

Today,atraditionalTOtypicallyreliesonrigidroles,exhaustingmeetingrituals,andatop-heavyreportingstack.Theofficecanrequireaneararmyofpeoplebecausetrackingprogress

manuallyissoslow.Considerarecenttwo-yearglobalturnaroundinvolvingmorethan3,000employeesacrosseightdivisions.Thetransformationofficerequiredmorethan15full-time

personnel,whospentmorethanhalftheirtimemanuallyvalidatingdataandrerunning

spreadsheetanalysestoproduceamandatory300-plusreporteveryfourweeksforatwo-daymonthlyboardworkshop.That’scommon—anditcommonlycapshowfasttheentirecompanycanmove.

Theagentictransformationoffice:Redefiningtheeconomicsofchange2

Theagentictransformationoffice:Redefiningtheeconomicsofchange3

Thecostofdatafragmentation

Becausehumantimeandattentionarefinite,criticaloperationalinsightsemergeslowlyand

reachkeydecision-makersevenmoreslowly—oftentoolatetosolvereal-worldproblems.A

disproportionateamountofbudgetiswastedonpredictableadministrativetasksinsteadof

strategicproblem-solving.Withouttightcentralcoordination,differentworkstreamsstarttellingdifferentversionsofthesamestory.

Desperatetoovercomecentralcapacitylimits,individualworkstreamteamsfrequentlybuild

theirownmakeshifttrackingtoolsandlocalizedreports.Inonerecenttransformation,a

fragmentedlandscapeacrosseightdivisionsreliedonmorethan100nonintegrateddocumentstotrackfinancialprogress.

Solvingforhumanbandwidth

AgenticAIcanfreetwo-thirdsormoreofaTOteamtofocusonhigher-valuework.The

potentialisgenerational.Graspingitstartswithacoretechnologicaldistinction:thedifferencebetweengenerativeAIasapersonalproductivitytoolandagenticAIoperatingasan

autonomous,operationalsystem.

Frompersonaltoolstoautonomoussystems

Today,genAIactslikeapersonalassistanttohelpanindividualcompleteasingletask,suchasdraftinganemail.AIagents,bycontrast,donotwaitforaprompt;theyplan,takeindependentaction,andcloseloopsautonomouslyacrossmultistepworkflows.TheTOiswherethis

capabilitymattersmostinthecompany,becauseitsautomatedoutputsdirectlytouch,guide,andacceleratealmosteveryactiveworkstream.Whiletransformationofficeshavehistoricallystruggledwithfragmentedmanualtools,McKinseytrackingacrossrecenttransformations

showsthatbroadmarketadoptionofcoredigitaldatalayersandperformance

“infostructure”—theunderlyingdigitaldatalayers,trackingtools,andperformancearchitecture—isincreasing(Exhibit1).

Thethreeautomatedpillars

Deployinganagenticarchitecturesetsafastermanagementrhythmacrosstheorganization,shiftingroutinemanualsupporttothreeautomatedpillars:

—Performanceintelligence:Insteadofwaitingforperiodicreviews,AIagentscontinuously

synthesizeinitiativedatainrealtime,automaticallyflagnegativevariances,andsurfaceonlythecriticalexceptionsthatseniorleadershipactuallyneedstosee.Forexample,inone

transformation,the“before”stateinvolvedtrackingmorethan30,000individual

improvementmeasuresand900,000criticaltemporaldatapoints,andrequiredseveralTOteammemberstoeachspendmultiplehoursrunningmanualdataqualitychecksand

conductingtedious,half-daypivottableexercisesdrawnfromhundredsofstaticExcelsheetsandahalf-dozenITsystems.The“after”state,bycontrast,isanagenticAI

Theagentictransformationoffice:Redefiningtheeconomicsofchange4

Exhibit1

frameworkbuiltinlargepartbyCursor(anAI-firstcodeeditorthatunderstandsnatural

language)andintegratedwithMcKinsey’sLilliTeamspace(anagent-specificsetupthat

providesimmediateanswersandinsights).Thenewsolutionnotonlyeliminateshoursof

manualspreadsheetmanipulationandrepetitivepivottableanalysisbutalsoleverages

agenticAIthatenablesdivisionalteamstoidentifywithinminutesspecificactionsor

omissionsthathadbeendelayingfinancialoutcomes.Thetoolsurfacesdiscreteproblems

earlyandtriggersimmediate,targetedescalations.Thisrepresentsafundamentalshift,as

advancedoperatingmodelsmovefromtrackingwhatalreadyhappenedtoflaggingwhatwillprobablyhappennext.

—Singlesourceoftruth:AgenticAIenablestheorganizationtomoveawayfromstaticweeklystatusreportsandachievealive,automaticallyupdatedpictureoftotalvaluedelivered,

activerisksoutstanding,andcriticaldecisionspending.Thetechnologyeliminates

spreadsheetversion-controlproblemsanddelayscausedby“duelingversions.”Moreover,

ratherthanbuildinganexpensive,centralizeddatalake(aprocessthatcantakemorethanayear),organizationscanleverageAItodynamicallylinkseparatedatasets.Already,

commerciallyprovensolutionscannear-seamlesslyextractcross-functionalinsightsfromsiloedplatforms—connectingeverythingfromWave(McKinsey’stransformation-tracking

Theagentictransformationoffice:Redefiningtheeconomicsofchange5

platform)andenterpriseresourceplanning(ERP)systemstoHRinfrastructureand

productiontools—tomaintainanaccurate,unifiedperspective.Thisunifiedviewgoes

beyondtrackingwhathasalreadyhappened;itallowsasystemtosimulatewhatshould

happennext.Forexample,bylinkingITcapacityplanningtoolsdirectlywithproject

requirementsinWave,anagentcanautomaticallysequenceanentireportfolioandmapoutdifferentexecutiontracks.Ifleadershipneedstoknowhowanextrafundingboostin2026wouldacceleratetimelinesandunlockfinancialbenefits,theagentcaninstantlycalculate

theimpactusingthoseconnectedsystems.Astheseplanschange,theagenthandleslogisticalrippleeffectsautomatically—updatingexecutivebriefings,steeringcommitteedecks,andweeklyteamcommunicationswithoutanyonehavingtosearchfortherightsourcesorsynthesizethemmanually.

—Conversationfacilitation:Presentationmaterialsforcrucialweeklysteeringforumsarenear-instantaneouslygeneratedbyautonomousagentsratherthanpainstakinglyassembledby

analysts.Forexample,insteadofananalystteamspendingfivehoursmanuallypreparingaSteerCobriefing,ateamfoundthatanAIagentcouldpreciselyanalyzereamsofdocumentsandautomaticallygenerateatailoredbriefinginlessthantenminutes.That’snotarandomanecdote.We’veseenTOteamsextractthemostvitalinsightsfromdisparatereportsand

filestopreparemeaningful,specificcriticalquestionsforleadershiptoaskduringeverypartofaSteerCoreview.Inonesuccessfultransformation,agenticAIslashedthetimespentonbiweeklyandsteeringcommitteereportsfrom12daysamonthtojustthree—andsaved

about200additionalperson-hourseachmonthfromagenticimprovementstoother

processes.Asaresult,humanattentioncanbefreedupfrompreparingpaperworkto

makingconsidered,better-informeddecisions.Ultimately,thisarchitectureensuresthattheweeklyandmonthlycorporatecadencebecomesagenuine,forward-lookingmanagementrhythmratherthananexhausting,backward-lookingreportingslog.

Collectively,thethreepillarscreateafasterandmoreeffectivemanagementcadence.Theyreducecomplexity,helpsurfaceinsightsatthepacethebusinessneeds,andfreehuman

bandwidthforstrategicpriorities.

Mindingtheguardrails

Movingfromsoftwarethatwritestexttoagentsthattakeactionintroducesnewoperational

risks.WhenindependentAIagentsconnect,asingledataerrorcanquietlytriggerachain

reactionofbaddecisionsdownstream,suchasleaksinanalysesandcorruptingmetrics.Whileleadingorganizationsrecognizethesethreats,ourresearchfindsthatmitigationcurrentlylagsbehindawareness.Moreover,atpresent,eventhemostelegantlydevelopedagentscanstill

haveroughedges.Forexample,agenticAIcanproducetoomanyfalsealarms—adrainon

resourcesthat,atleastinitially,canfeelliketwostepsforwardandonestepback.Early-movingTOsarelearningthateverystepanagenttakesmustbetransparentandtrackable.Yettheir

experienceisbecomingacompetitiveadvantage.Smallerrorsthatmayseemtrivialinaslow-movingenvironmentcompoundmuchmorequicklyamidrapidchange.

Theagentictransformationoffice:Redefiningtheeconomicsofchange6

Anewdivisionoflaborforleaders

Operatingwithaleanercenterdoesnotmeantheorganizationhasaweakercore—itmeansthattheTOcanbefarmoreintentionalandachievemuchgreaterimpact.AnagenticTOestablishesacleardivisionoflabor:Predictabledatamanipulationisautomatedwhilehumancapabilityis

focusedonstrategy.

Elevatinghumanjudgment

Thereareclearboundariestoautomation;humanjudgmentremainsirreplaceableforthehigh-stakes,nuancedworkofatransformation.AIcannotprogramawaydifficultescalationcalls,

smoothovercomplexstakeholderrelationships,orreplacethecreativenuanceoforganizationalculture.Butbyhandingtheadministrativestaffworkovertoagents,TOscanfreeupamassiveamountofhumancapacity.Inarecentdeployment,automatingtencoreinsightgenerationandreportingprocessesreducedthecentralTOrequirementfromanengagementmanagerand

ninestaffmemberstojustthemanagerandtwocorestaffmembers.Thisfreedupmorethan25daysofcapacity,allowingtheremainingteamtoredirecttheirfocustowardcoaching,alignment,andnew-ideageneration(Exhibit2).

Theagentictransformationdaytoday

Tovisualizewhatanagentictransformationlookslikeonadailybasis,companiesshouldenvisionlong-termaspirationsandaccountforimmediateoperationalwins,includingthefollowing:

—Dramaticallyimprovingtheoutput:TheAIagentactsasanautomatedcomplianceand

hygienecheck,continuouslyscanningupcomingmeetingagendasandpresentation

materialsagainsttheactiveparticipantlists.Ifitdetectsthatthespecificinitiativeownerresponsibleforsharingthevitalchangestoryhasnotbeeninvitedtothecorresponding

reviewmeeting,itautomaticallyidentifiestheomissionandissuesaninvite.Theshiftis

fundamental:AImovesfromacompliancetoolthatanemployeemayusetoaproactive

partnerthatalwayspushesforbetterprojectoutcomes.Forinstance,byanalyzingcurrentprojectplansagainstWave’shistoricaltransformationknowledgebase,agentscan

automaticallyflagunderperformingworkstreamsandsuggestspecific,provenwaystoacceleratedeliveryorboostfinancialimpact,informedbypasttransformations.

—DraftingtheweeklySteerCodecks:Insteadofananalystteamspendingtheweekend

copyingandpastingcharts,theAIagentautomaticallypreparestheweeklysteering

committeepresentationsbyingestingandanalyzingthepriorweek’spresentations,data

extractsfromtrackingdatabasessuchasWave,andtranscriptsofrecentalignment

meetings.Oncethemastersteeringdeckiscompiled,theagentautomaticallyfiltersand

convertsthatdataintotargeted,customizedpresentationsforindividualworkstreamleads.

—Automatingoperationalreminders:TheAIagentassumestheroleofprojectcoordinator,automaticallygeneratinganddispatchingeveryweeklyreminder,follow-upmessage,and

Theagentictransformationoffice:Redefiningtheeconomicsofchange7

Exhibit2

Theagentictransformationoffice:Redefiningtheeconomicsofchange8

dataentryrequesttothebroaderorganizationwithoutrequiringhumanprompting.

Buildingthenewmodel

Whiletheshifttoanagentictransformationshouldmovequickly,itcannothappenovernight;itrequiresadisciplinedapproachandclearprerequisites.Beforedeployingautonomoustools,anorganizationwillfirstneedtomapoperationalworkflows,establishspecificgovernancerules,

andbuildagenticcapabilitiesacrosstheenterprise.Themov