"Network traffic generated by artificial intelligence (AI) agents can increase by up to nearly four times compared with before. The resulting infrastructure bottlenecks will become increasingly evident."
DJ Sampath, senior vice president of AI software and platforms at Cisco's security business, stated accordingly at a media briefing during "Cisco Live US 2026." He said that as AI evolves beyond simple Q&A chatbots into agents that directly carry out tasks, corporations must redesign their network, security, and data center infrastructure.
Cisco assessed that the spread of AI agents not only changes how applications are used but also demands a reorganization across networks, security, data centers, and collaboration systems.
◇ "A major shift from chatbots to agents… infrastructure bottlenecks will grow"
Sampath said, "We are witnessing a major move from chatbots to agents," and added, "Agents are not just tools; they are emerging as colleagues that carry out work together." He cited infrastructure constraints, lack of trust, and data gaps as key challenges in the era of AI agents.
He explained that as AI agents increase, the complexity of corporate infrastructure also grows. Sampath said, "Routing which task to which model, which action, and which tool is extremely complex," and added, "Every action an agent takes becomes a telemetry event, so governance is needed to manage and control this."
Cisco proposed "Cisco Cloud Control" as the solution. It is a structure that manages network, security, data center, and application operations data on a single platform, with AI agents suggesting root-cause analyses and response measures. Instead of hopping among multiple dashboards, operators review the agent's analyses and recommendations and approve necessary actions.
Sampath said, "Cisco Cloud Control is a unified, AI-native management platform that enables people and agents to work together," adding, "Through the AI Canvas, users can obtain needed information by conversing with security products, firewalls, and networking equipment."
Cisco also introduced "Cloud Control Studio," which can be used to build custom agents and apps for each corporation. It includes an "Agent Builder" for customers to develop and train their own agents, and an "App Builder" for creating applications tailored to workflows. Sampath said, "Customers say customization for their environments and workloads is critical," adding, "Agent Builder trains agents to carry out specific tasks within a customer's organization."
OpenAI's Codex is also integrated into App Builder. Sampath said, "By embedding OpenAI Codex within the Cisco Cloud Control platform, we will enable the creation of custom apps and workflows tailored to each customer environment," adding, "From the initial design stage, it will be possible to implement applications and automation with observability and security."
◇ "Decades-old networks cannot support corporations' AI ambitions"
Ben Dawson, president for Asia-Pacific, Japan and China (APJC) at Cisco, emphasized infrastructure modernization in the AI era. Dawson said, "The AI revolution is already here, and digital infrastructure has become the core foundation that determines economic and business outcomes," adding, "Decades-old networks alone cannot support corporations' AI ambitions."
Dawson said, "Customers keep talking about the need to modernize networks," adding, "Infrastructure must be built with security in mind from the start." He said what is needed is a full-stack infrastructure in which networking, computing, storage, security, and observability operate together, rather than tacking security on later.
Cisco said the focus of AI investment discussions is also shifting. Dawson said, "In the past, the main discussion was how to build AI capabilities; now the question is how to achieve tangible return on investment (ROI)," adding, "Conversations led by CIOs are shifting to conversations led by CFOs."
He said, "In the AI era, networking, security, data, observability, and collaboration must operate as a single system," adding, "Cisco will support customers' transitions as a core infrastructure corporation for the AI era."
◇ "AI also speeds up attacks… vulnerability patching must change"
Tom Gillis, senior vice president and general manager of Cisco's infrastructure and security group, emphasized that AI is also increasing the speed of security threats. Gillis said, "As frontier models advance rapidly, the way we operate and protect infrastructure at scale is fundamentally changing," adding, "It no longer works to find a vulnerability, patch it, and then leave it for a year, 18 months, or two years as in the past."
He said, "With advances in automation, attackers are not only finding vulnerabilities but also rapidly acquiring the means to exploit them," adding, "The gap between when a vulnerability is discovered and when it is actually exploited is narrowing." He explained that, as a result, security features that precisely control specific processes or file access in runtime environments are needed.
Access control for AI agents was also cited as a new challenge. Gillis said, "Access control for people and access control for agents must be distinguished," adding, "We need to identify whether the entity typing on the keyboard is a person or an agent acting on a person's behalf."
He compared agents to a company's "interns." To carry out tasks, they need email, internal tools, and data access permissions, but excessive permissions raise security risks. Gillis said, "Agents should be given a nonhuman identity separate from people, and we must precisely control which resources they can access, for what tasks, and for how long," adding, "We must manage not just simple access control but also what agents are allowed to do."
◇ "Operators will take on the role of supervising AI agents"
Anurag Dhingra, senior vice president and general manager for enterprise connectivity and collaboration at Cisco, pointed to secure connectivity and collaboration tools as prerequisites for workspaces in the AI era. He said, "A future-ready workplace needs both secured connectivity and effective collaboration tools," adding, "Tools for video conferencing and collaboration like Webex, and network management capabilities, must evolve together."
Dhingra also expects AI agents to play a larger role in network operations. He said, "In Cisco Cloud Control, operators will take on the role of supervising tasks performed by agents," and explained, "When an agent proposes optimization measures, operators can review network briefs, root-cause analyses, and risk scores to decide on actions."
Digital twins were also mentioned as a key tool for AI-driven network operations. Dhingra said, "You can identically implement networking equipment such as routers and access points in a virtual environment for testing," adding, "Before applying an agent's proposed actions to the actual network, you can validate the impact in a digital environment."
A network strategy for connecting multicloud environments was also presented. Dhingra said, "Corporate applications are being built across multiple environments such as AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, data lakes, and Active Directory," adding, "Connecting and managing all these clouds is not easy."
To support this, Cisco plans to provide a "multicloud fabric" (a common network that connects, manages, and protects dispersed infrastructure as if it were a single network) that can be run directly from Cisco Cloud Control. As AI agents move to the forefront of corporate workloads and infrastructure operations, networks are being redefined from simple connectivity into foundational infrastructure for the AI era that spans security, data, collaboration, and operational automation.