AWS and Google Cloud have sharply increased their investments in agentic AI, unveiling new tools and programs designed to drive channel partner innovation and adoption. These moves underscore the cloud giants’ strategy of empowering integrators, solution providers, and managed service firms to build AI agents capable of automating business tasks end to end.

Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian told CRN that agentic AI represents “the biggest opportunity for partners,” estimating it could generate billions in productivity gains as channel firms use AI agents within customer workflows. Google Cloud has launched several key enablers, including the Agentspace platform—integrating Gemini, search, and data services—and an open Agent2Agent protocol to enable seamless communication between agents. The company has also introduced an AI Agent Marketplace on its Cloud Marketplace, allowing partners to package, sell, and manage custom agents—with co-selling opportunities encouraged through enhanced partner incentives.

These initiatives have already gained traction. Partners such as Onix built Wingspan, an “AI platform” that unifies data and automates processes using Agent‑oriented APIs, reportedly deploying hundreds of agents per enterprise. Other systems integrators—including Accenture, Deloitte, HCLTech, and PwC — are contributing specialized agents focused on domains like healthcare, finance, and ecommerce, fueling interest and adoption.

AWS is matching this momentum with its own open-source toolkit and strategic partner engagements. In May, AWS launched Strands Agents, an SDK enabling partners to build deployable AI agents with minimal coding. The company also inked a strategic deal with ClearScale to deliver AI services to small and medium-sized businesses. ClearScale highlighted successful use cases such as an AI-powered VMware exit assessment tool designed for AWS environments.

Both cloud providers are apuesta (betting) big on partners’ roles in delivering agentic AI solutions. As Kurian stated, “We are monetarily investing a lot more in our partner ecosystem to build AI solutions on top of our platform,” while AWS’s Matt Garman underlined their commitment to open-source and interoperability in this space. Analysts note this reflects a broader pivot: partners are set to profit not just from deploying infrastructure but from delivering full “digital labor” capabilities powered by autonomous agents.

Industry research supports this surge: Gartner forecasts that by 2028, 15% of daily work decisions will be handled by agentic AI, up from virtually zero today. For channel partners, this shift redefines service models and revenue structures, ushering in new offerings like agent development, orchestration, monitoring, and outcome-based pricing.

In summary, AWS and Google Cloud are architecting an agentic AI ecosystem with partners at the center, providing platforms, tools, marketplaces, and go-to-market support. As enterprise demand for intelligent automation grows, channel partners equipped with these resources are well-positioned to deliver next‑generation AI-driven outcomes, transforming the cloud services industry in the process.