By Chandra Reddy
In the age of intelligent everything, breakthroughs in engineering, research and development (ER&D) rely on the evolution of complex software systems. The need for high-precision, high-speed software development is growing exponentially across industries. As industries embrace autonomous systems, digital twins and hyper-personalisation, engineering is advancing beyond traditional AI-assisted methods. Gen AI is transforming software engineering, especially in real-time control systems and high-reliability applications. Technology is also undergoing a paradigm shift with the integration of agentic AI, ushering in the next level of augmented engineering where AI systems act autonomously.
Organisations are moving from traditional, manual software development to AI-augmented engineering, where Gen AI acts as a co-pilot—collaborating with human developers to generate code, documentation, testing, and bug fixing. While this transformation enhances efficiency, it still relies on expertly crafted prompts to maximise the potential of LLMs.
Beyond accelerating code creation, agentic AI can manage the entire software lifecycle, redefining software engineering. AI-driven agents create, optimise, and maintain software with minimal human intervention. By automating tasks such
as requirement analysis, design generation, code generation and testing, AI agents improve efficiency .
Agentic AI enables self-learning, self-healing, and self-optimising capabilities, transforming industries such as aerospace & defence, automotive, manufacturing and healthcare. From real-time anomaly resolution to enhancing medical imaging and automating chip design, AI agents build, maintain, and evolve mission-critical applications with speed and accuracy.
The integration of AI agents into core engineering and manufacturing workflows is driven by the need to accelerate development cycles, enhance productivity and improve quality. The goal is to augment human capabilities with AI, achieving more with the same workforce.
In today’s fast-paced business environment, product support and services are no longer just about fixing issues. Instead, enhancing operational efficiency and delivering exceptional customer experiences are paramount. Agentic AI will change support, sustenance, and professional services through predictive problem-solving, automating routine tasks and delivering expert-level insights.
The future of industries will be defined by the reinvention of software engineering with an AI-first approach. Agentic AI-powered software engineering will be the new standard for innovation, efficiency, and resilience across industries.
Agentic AI will shift software development from a human-guided process to an agile, intelligent, and self-adaptive ecosystem.
The adoption of agentic AI in software engineering will foster innovation, accelerate delivery cycles, and build resilient digital foundations for the future.
The writer is EVP & MD, Capgemini Engineering, India
