Workday customers pull its data into outside AI agents instead of using Workday's own AI

Workday customers are increasingly using AI agents from Anthropic, Microsoft and others to pull data out of Workday rather than buying or using the AI built into the HR and finance software, according to The Information. The reporting draws on interviews with five consultants and partners who work with more than 2,000 Workday customers. Software companies NinjaOne and Druva are among those building their own agents on top of Workday data.

The numbers At one consultancy with more than 400 Workday customers, about half have signed usage-based AI agreements, but only 10–20% actively use Workday AI and none use Sana Enterprise, the AI product Workday launched in March. Workday is offering free credits and a free year of Sana Enterprise to some large customers, and has waived API overage charges from May 2026 to February 2027.

Workday's side Workday says customers using its AI agents grew 35% quarter on quarter to 5,500 of roughly 11,500, though it did not say how many pay; in August it said agents plus Sana were on pace for $600M a year. Revenue growth slowed to 12.8% in the July quarter, and analysts expect 9.7% for the quarter ending January 2027. CEO Aneel Bhusri, back in the role since February, declined to comment on a Reuters report from August that Silver Lake had considered taking the roughly $45B company private.

Why it matters It is one of the clearest field reports yet on the agent-era worry for systems-of-record software: if customers route their AI work through general-purpose agents, apps like Workday risk becoming the data layer underneath rather than the place where the AI value is captured. The adoption figures come from consultants rather than Workday's own disclosures, and customer success stories cited by Workday were supplied by the company.

Source The Information: Why the SaaSpocalypse Isn’t Over For Workday