The AI Agent Report Volume 1
What an AI agent actually is, how many are on sale in 2026, and a field guide to 31 you can buy today — with makers, pricing, autonomy, launch dates, and where to acquire each.
Figures cross-checked across Grand View, MarketsandMarkets, Emergen, and vendor filings, Jan–Jul 2026. Estimates diverge; see the market section.
A chatbot answers. An agent acts.
The distinction that matters in 2026 is autonomy. A chatbot responds to one prompt at a time with no memory of a long-term goal. An agent takes a high-level objective, breaks it into sub-tasks, uses tools — a browser, a code interpreter, APIs — and loops until the goal is met.
Ask vanilla ChatGPT “what’s the weather in Paris?” and it answers. Tell an agent “book me a 3-day trip to Paris under $1,200” and it researches flights, compares hotels, and returns an itinerary without further input. The three traits every vendor claims: autonomy (acts without step-by-step guidance), tool use (touches real systems), and goal-orientation (loops toward an outcome).
Small today, forecast enormous — and analysts don’t agree by how much.
Every major research house pegs the 2026 market between $8B and $15B, and every one forecasts a ~45–50% CAGR. Where they part ways is the destination: from $47B by 2030 to $317B by 2035. Read the trajectory, not the decimal points.
| Source | 2025 | Forecast |
|---|---|---|
| Grand View | $7.6B | $183B ’33 |
| MarketsandMarkets | $7.8B | $53B ’30 |
| SNS Insider | $7.8B | $317B ’35 |
| Roots Analysis | $15B | $221B ’35 |
| Precedence | $7.9B | $236B ’34 |
North America held ~40% of 2025 revenue; Asia-Pacific is the fastest-growing region. Ready-to-deploy agents were ~59% of revenue.
“How many specialized agents are for sale?” There is no clean number — here’s the honest range.
No registry lists every commercial agent, and definitions differ wildly — a “product” can be one flagship agent or a platform hosting thousands. The most rigorous public census, the AI Agent Index (the first public database of deployed agentic systems), catalogued just 67 systems as of Dec 31, 2024, filtered to those with real deployment detail.
At the other extreme, marketplace-level counts run into the millions of deployed instances, and Microsoft forecasts 1.3 billion agents by 2028. Between those poles sit the ready-to-buy products a team actually shortlists: realistically several hundred commercial offerings across the categories below. This brief profiles 31 that consistently top 2026 buyer shortlists.
31 agents you can buy in 2026
Grouped by category. Pricing verified against vendor pages Jan–Jul 2026 — a fast-moving, high-churn space; confirm current rates before buying. “Quote-only” means the vendor publishes no public price.
General-purpose autonomous agents
brief it, walk away| Agent / Maker | What it does | Launched | Auto. | Pricing | Limitation / where |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
ChatGPT Agent
OpenAI
|
Runs tasks in its own virtual computer with a browser and tools — navigates sites, fills forms, assembles documents. Absorbed Operator (2025). | Jul 2025 | In ChatGPT Plus $20/mo → Pro $200/mo |
Monthly task caps on lower tiers; checks in before consequential actions.
chatgpt.com › |
|
|
Manus
Manus (Singapore)
|
Spins up a dedicated cloud machine with browser, code interpreter and office apps; takes a plain brief and returns a finished deliverable. Topped the GAIA benchmark. | Mar 2025 | Free (300 daily credits); paid from $20–$39/mo |
Individual-focused; credits don’t roll over; Meta acquisition blocked ’26.
manus.im › |
|
|
Gemini Agent
Google
|
Browser automation, deep research and app-connected tasks across Gemini surfaces; absorbed Project Mariner. Strong for Google Workspace users. | 2025 | Google AI Pro from $20/mo; Gemini Enterprise |
Best value inside Google’s ecosystem; Mariner retired as standalone.
gemini.google.com › |
|
|
Claude Cowork
Anthropic
|
General agent that operates on your local file system — reads/writes files, runs multi-step work with safety gating. The most permission-conscious of the three big labs. | 2026 | Claude Pro $20/mo; Max $100–$200/mo |
Most safety-gated computer use; deliberately cautious on actions.
claude.com › |
|
|
Genspark Super Agent
Genspark
|
Mixture-of-agents pipeline purpose-built to produce a website, deck, video or research report from a single prompt. | 2025 | Free tier; paid subscription |
Deliverable-generation focus rather than open-ended computer use.
genspark.ai › |
Coding agents
the fastest-growing role| Agent / Maker | What it does | Launched | Auto. | Pricing | Limitation / where |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Claude Code
Anthropic
|
Terminal-native agent; multi-hour sessions with sub-agent orchestration and skills-based workflows. Runs Claude Sonnet 5 by default. | 2025 | Claude Pro $20/mo; Max $100–$200/mo |
Weekly usage limits on Pro/Max; token-hungry.
claude.com/product/claude-code › |
|
|
Cursor
Anysphere
|
AI-first IDE with agent-driven multi-file editing (Composer). The developer favorite for fast, in-editor agentic coding. | 2023 | Pro $20/mo, Pro+ $60, Ultra $200 |
Daily agent users often hit $60–$100/mo; 2025 pricing backlash.
cursor.com › |
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GitHub Copilot
GitHub
|
Inline completions plus a cloud coding agent that opens PRs. Enterprise standard with IP indemnity and deep IDE integration. | 2021 | Free; Pro $10/mo; Business $19; Enterprise $39 |
Moved to usage-based credits Jun 2026; some bills jumped sharply.
github.com/features/copilot › |
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|
OpenAI Codex
OpenAI
|
One account across CLI, cloud, app and mobile; delegate coding tasks that run autonomously. Runs the GPT-5.6 family. | 2025 | In ChatGPT Go $8 / Plus $20 / Pro $200 |
Token-aligned usage billing; cross-surface but newer ecosystem.
openai.com/codex › |
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|
Devin
Cognition
|
Cloud-hosted autonomous software engineer; parallel agents that plan, code, test and open PRs hands-off. Windsurf folded in as Devin Desktop. | Mar 2024 | Core from $20/mo; Team ~$500/mo |
Highest autonomy, lower throughput per dollar; best for delegation.
devin.ai › |
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Antigravity
Google
|
Agent-first dev platform: agents plan, execute, test and validate across editor, terminal and browser. Model-agnostic (Gemini 3, Claude, OSS). | Late 2025 | Free platform; pay model usage |
New; “mission control” workflow is a learning curve.
antigravity.google › |
Customer-support & sales agents
the biggest revenue slice| Agent / Maker | What it does | Launched | Auto. | Pricing | Limitation / where |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Fin
Intercom
|
Deflects repetitive support tickets end-to-end; runs standalone on 8+ helpdesks (Zendesk, Salesforce). The transparent-pricing reference point. | 2023 | $0.99 per resolution; $49/mo base (50 incl.) |
Real-world resolution often 42–50% vs 71% vendor claim.
fin.ai › |
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Decagon
Decagon
|
Highly configurable enterprise support agent with strong analytics and sub-second voice; becomes a team’s primary system. $4.5B valuation. | 2023 | Quote-only; ~$95K–$590K/yr |
No public pricing, trial or self-serve; ~6 weeks to deploy.
decagon.ai › |
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Sierra
Sierra (Bret Taylor)
|
Bespoke, deeply branded enterprise conversational agents with white-glove builds; priced per resolved ticket. Serves ~40% of the Fortune 50. | 2023 | Quote-only; ~$200K–$350K+/yr |
Deployments take 3–7 months; enterprise-only economics.
sierra.ai › |
|
|
Customer Agent
HubSpot
|
Suite-native support agent resolving conversations across the HubSpot CRM; aggressive platform-play pricing. | 2024 | $0.50 per resolved conversation (cut Apr ’26) |
Most valuable inside the HubSpot ecosystem.
hubspot.com › |
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Ava
Artisan
|
AI SDR that automates outbound prospecting end-to-end — sourcing leads and sending personalized sequences. Built to replace an SDR seat. | 2023 | Custom subscription |
Outbound-focused; still needs human oversight on messaging.
artisan.co › |
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11x (Alice)
11x
|
Autonomous “digital worker” for outbound sales development — research, personalization and multichannel outreach at scale. | 2023 | Custom subscription |
Data quality and deliverability constraints on cold outreach.
11x.ai › |
Vertical agents
domain-trained, regulation-aware| Agent / Maker | What it does | Launched | Auto. | Pricing | Limitation / where |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Harvey
Harvey
|
Legal agent for contract review, case-law research, due diligence and drafting; integrates iManage/NetDocuments. Majority of the AmLaw 100. | 2022 | Quote-only; mid-market ~$1,500–$2,000/seat/mo |
Premium pricing debated; dropped its own model for frontier LLMs.
harvey.ai › |
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|
Legora
Legora
|
Collaborative legal AI for research, review and drafting; hit $100M ARR in 18 months — faster than OpenAI or Cursor at that mark. | 2023 | Quote-only (enterprise) |
No public pricing; enterprise legal focus.
legora.com › |
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Abridge
Abridge
|
Ambient clinical documentation — sits in the exam room and turns conversation into structured notes inside the EHR. $5.3B valuation. | 2018 | Quote-only (health systems) |
HIPAA scope; competes with Microsoft Dragon Copilot’s 200K users.
abridge.com › |
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Hippocratic AI
Hippocratic AI
|
Non-diagnostic healthcare voice agents — pre-op education, chronic-care check-ins, medication reminders. Physician-led safety board; NVIDIA partner. | 2023 | Quote-only (enterprise) |
Deliberately non-diagnostic; ~$3.5B valuation on safety moat.
hippocraticai.com › |
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EvenUp
EvenUp
|
Personal-injury legal agent: automates demand-letter generation and case valuation. ~$2B valuation reshaping a lucrative niche. | 2019 | Quote-only (law firms) |
Narrow vertical; PI-law specific workflows.
evenuplaw.com › |
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Vanta
Vanta
|
Compliance automation agent — continuous evidence collection and monitoring for SOC 2, ISO and audits. ~$300M ARR, the top compliance-AI number. | 2018 | Quote-only; from low-thousands/yr |
Compliance scope; complements rather than replaces auditors.
vanta.com › |
Agent-building & enterprise platforms
build or orchestrate your own| Agent / Maker | What it does | Launched | Auto. | Pricing | Limitation / where |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Agentforce
Salesforce
|
Ready-to-deploy agents for service, sales and field work, plus a builder over your CRM data. The commercial pace-setter: 22,000+ deals. | Oct 2024 | $2.00 per conversation; impl. $50K–$150K |
Billed per conversation whether resolved or not; Data Cloud dependency.
salesforce.com/agentforce › |
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Copilot Studio
Microsoft
|
Low-code builder for custom agents plus Agent 365 as a control plane for native and third-party agents across Microsoft 365. | 2023 | M365 Copilot $30/user/mo; consumption add-ons |
Most value locked to the Microsoft ecosystem.
microsoft.com/microsoft-copilot › |
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Glean
Glean
|
Enterprise work assistant and agent builder grounded in your company’s permissioned knowledge; SOC 2 Type II. Governance-first. | 2019 | Quote-only (per-seat, enterprise) |
Year-one enterprise deployments can exceed $250K.
glean.com › |
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Lindy
Lindy
|
No-code platform to build business agents that trigger on events and act across your apps (email, CRM, calendar). | 2023 | From $49.99/mo |
Reliability depends on how tightly you scope each workflow.
lindy.ai › |
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n8n
n8n
|
Open-source, self-hostable workflow automation — the most flexible foundation for custom vertical agents with 400+ integrations. | 2019 | Self-host free; cloud from ~$20/mo |
Technical setup; you own the model costs and maintenance.
n8n.io › |
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Gumloop
Gumloop
|
Visual builder for business automation agents with unlimited seats — a fast path from workflow diagram to running agent. | 2023 | From $37/mo, unlimited seats |
Best for structured workflows rather than open-ended autonomy.
gumloop.com › |
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Relay.app
Relay
|
Human-in-the-loop workflow automation with AI steps and approval checkpoints; 100+ integrations across multiple models. | 2022 | Free AI credits; paid plans |
Checkpoint model trades some autonomy for control.
relay.app › |
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OpenHands
All Hands AI
|
MIT-licensed, Docker-sandboxed, model-agnostic open-source agent — runs real autonomous work while keeping code on your hardware. | 2024 | Free (self-host); pay model tokens |
Self-managed; no vendor SLA or support.
all-hands.dev › |
Four shifts every buyer is navigating
From flat seats to metered outcomes
The market is converging on usage- and outcome-based billing: $0.99 per resolution, $2 per conversation, token-metered credits. Coding tools that flipped to usage-based pricing in 2026 saw some bills jump ~25×. Model your real volume before signing — sticker prices mislead.
Trust is falling as capability rises
Confidence in fully autonomous agents dropped from 43% (2024) to 22% (2025); 60% of organizations don’t fully trust them. The winning pattern is human-in-the-loop: the agent drafts, a person approves. Real autonomy still fails on judgment and ambiguity.
Specialized agents are eating horizontal SaaS
In regulated fields, domain-trained agents beat general copilots: attorney-client privilege, HIPAA, SEC audit trails can’t be bolted onto a raw API. Gartner projects 40% of enterprise apps will embed vertical agents by end of 2026.
Most buyers partner rather than build
62% of organizations prefer to buy from providers (Salesforce, ServiceNow, SAP); 33% build in-house. A serious mid-market deployment runs $30K–$150K in year one — roughly a third license, a third integration, a third change management.
Method: findings synthesized from market-research houses (Grand View, MarketsandMarkets, Emergen, SNS, Roots Analysis, Precedence), vendor pricing pages and earnings filings, and independent 2026 comparison reviews. Pricing and model names shift monthly; every figure is dated where it matters. Where sources conflict — e.g. Fin’s resolution rate or total market size — the disagreement is reported rather than averaged away.