• AI agents could become a significant new invisible network user by the end of the decade, with 38 percent of current smartphone users expect to delegate everyday tasks to AI by 2030, according to new Ericsson ConsumerLab research.

About four percent of current smartphone users avail of agentic AI capabilities - where AI takes care of tasks normally done by the user - according to the communications service providers- (CSP) focused research.

Smartphone users surveyed across 27 markets forecast rapid growth in agentic AI uptake, with 38 percent saying they expect to be using such apps and features on their devices by 2030.

About 10 percent of current smartphone owners globally are considered to be AI super users, heavily engaging with multimodal AI. That number is also expected to grow rapidly, to about 30 percent of smartphone owners by 2030.

Tasks such as scheduling and coordination, comparison of products, overseeing recurring purchases, and health monitoring are among the most common activities expected to be delegated to agentic AI.

Survey respondents expect to save up to an hour of browsing time daily as a result.

Current AI super users spend about 2.5 times longer using AI apps and services compared to the average smartphone user. By 2030 this is expected to increase to around four times longer.

The Ericsson ConsumerLab report - called an agentic life: How consumer AI usage is shaping future network needs - also highlights respondents’ expectations regarding the role CSPs should play in AI agent identity, mobile network security and capabilities.

Jasmeet Singh Sethi, Head of Ericsson ConsumerLab, says: “We have seen many times that early adopter behavior and expectations - in this case the AI super users - are a strong indicator of much wider-scale adoption to follow. We believe this will be the same with the use of agentic AI.”

He adds: “Multimodal and agentic AI growth will not only create network quality expectations for consumers in terms of their experience but will also result in significantly increased background actions in the networks that need to be handled securely and efficiently.”

Sethi says the report, which also highlights that smartphone AI super user experiences are influenced by connectivity perceptions, provides relevant and timely insights for service providers’ network strategies.

Report research tapped more than 43,000 smartphone users aged 15-69 across the 27 markets. Ericsson ConsumerLab says this is representative of about 1.7 billion smartphone users worldwide.

The markets surveyed were: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, France, Germany, Greece, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America

Access the full an agentic life: How consumer AI usage is shaping future network needs report via this link.