Artificial intelligence is quickly becoming part of everyday work inside independent agencies.
At Accelerate 2026, Vertafore VP of Industry Relations & Partnerships Doug Mohr joined ACT Executive Director Kasey Connors to talk through how agencies are actually using AI, where they are getting stuck, and what changes as the technology becomes more common across the industry.
Their conversation, alongside insights from the 2026 Big “I” Agents Council for Technology (ACT) Tech Trends Report, point to five shifts changing how agencies think about AI and the role it plays inside their business.
1. AI is no longer experimental
AI has moved quickly from experimentation into day-to-day agency operations. In the podcast discussion, Mohr agreed. “Last year, a lot of agencies were experimenting with AI—testing tools, seeing what was possible. This year, that’s all changed.”
What started as experimentation has become part of how agencies operate every day. AI is no longer sitting off to the side as something agencies plan to figure out later.
Today, agencies are using AI in practical ways across the business—from drafting client communications to automating repetitive work. It is moving deeper into underwriting, customer service, quoting, workflow management, and other everyday agency functions.
The shift in thinking for agencies now is not deciding whether AI matters. It’s how they can intentionally embed AI into their everyday operations. More agencies are starting with the workflows, slowing teams down most, then applying automation in targeted places where it clearly improves speed, consistency, or service.
2. Agencies are challenged to keep up with a rapidly expanding AI landscape
Agencies are trying to keep up with how quickly the AI landscape is changing.
“Everyone is talking about AI,” Connors said. “But there’s a clear gap between an agency’s interest and its readiness.
The ACT report notes that as agencies shop for AI solutions, they are challenged with sorting through overlapping vendors and competing AI promises. One agency respondent summed up the frustration this way: “Vendors want to sell us their tool and often leave out crucial information… we just don’t know what questions to ask.”
The agencies making the most progress in AI adoption are slowing down long enough to identify operational problems, creating the most friction first, then evaluating technology against those specific needs. That often means starting with smaller, clearly defined use cases instead of trying to overhaul the entire business all at once.
3. AI cannot fix messy operations
As agencies move from experimenting with AI into using it more broadly, many are realizing that automation works best when their existing workflows make sense.
The ACT report notes that agencies still operate without standardized workflows, so the same task may look completely different depending on the employee or office handling it. But automation cannot work within tangled workflow processes.
Connors recommends agencies “start with a clear operational strategy, then build an AI strategy on top of that.”
AI cannot repair operational chaos after the fact, so agencies looking to bring it into their solutions need to address chaotic, disorganized workflows so the automation can work seamlessly like it’s supposed to.
4. Agencies are using AI to protect the value people create
The foundation of every independent agency is its people—the relationships they build, the judgment they bring, and the trust clients place in them. Yet, manual tasks and workflows often rob employees of the time to do this higher-value work.
Now, agencies finally have the AI technology capable of handling more and AI is accelerating what that technology can do.
The ACT report notes that agencies are increasingly using AI and automation to support routine work while keeping producers and relationship managers focused on advising clients and building trust.
As agencies adopt more AI into their existing systems, they will uncover more time for the moments clients actually care about—explaining coverage, solving problems, and helping people feel confident about what comes next. This return of time also means employees find more satisfaction in doing the work that drives growth for the business.
5. Technology decisions are becoming business decisions
Technology decisions no longer sit with IT teams alone.
“The agencies doing this well are not treating it as an IT project,” Connors said.
A technology decision now affects how service teams handle work, how producers prepare for client conversations, how employees get trained, and how leaders think about growth.
The ACT report points to the same change happening across the industry. More agencies are bringing operations leaders, producers, and service teams into technology discussions because they understand how work actually moves through the business.
As agencies continue to make technology decisions, they are finding that involving more people delivers the best outcomes. When technology decisions happen too far away from day-to-day operations, agencies risk adding tools that look promising on paper but do not actually fit the way teams work.
AI is no longer a side initiative
The agencies making the most progress are not starting with AI and searching for a use case later. They are starting with the business they want to build, identifying the operational problems slowing things down first, and taking a careful look at which AI solutions actually fit the way their teams work.
For some agencies, that means using AI to automate renewal outreach or reduce manual rekeying between systems. For others, it means improving policy review workflows, simplifying communication, or giving service teams better visibility into client information.
The goal is not AI for the sake of innovation. It’s using AI intentionally to make the business easier to operate—for employees and clients alike.
To learn more about how agencies are using AI to reduce manual work, strengthen workflows, and support employees, explore Vertafore’s AI solutions.