There is more environmental, social, and governance (ESG) data than ever, yet sustainability teams are finding that the research component of their jobs is not getting any easier. Disclosure rules are tightening. Stakeholder expectations are growing. And the volume of reports, standards, and frameworks to parse through? It’s overwhelming.
Even the best ESG teams—armed with spreadsheets, static software, and siloed tools—are struggling to keep up with the sheer quantity of research required to do their jobs well. The old way of doing things can’t keep up with the pace and complexity of modern sustainability demands.
That’s where agentic AI comes in.
This new category of artificial intelligence is changing how ESG research gets done. By automating multi-step processes and taking intelligent action based on goals (not just commands), agentic AI is helping ESG teams move faster, think smarter, and respond to regulatory change with confidence.
Let’s take a closer look at what agentic AI is, how it works, and why it’s poised to reshape ESG reporting and strategy.
What is agentic AI?
Traditional AI, like the generative models many teams use today, is built to complete a single task, like generating a paragraph, summarizing a document, or answering a question. It’s like hiring a skilled individual contributor. Helpful, but limited.
Agentic AI, on the other hand, operates more like an entire department. It can sequence and execute multiple tasks toward a goal, such as gathering data from reports, analyzing trends, comparing benchmarks, determining gaps, and even drafting disclosure narratives based on what it finds. And it does all this by tapping into different tools along the way, including generative AI.
In other words, it’s not just about producing one output. Agentic AI manages the full workflow, from collecting and interpreting ESG data to recommending actions and delivering audit-ready outputs. It learns as it goes, adapts to changing inputs, and ensures every step is connected to the next.
How it works
At the heart of agentic AI are three core capabilities:
- Autonomous reasoning: It can break a complex objective into smaller steps and decide how to complete each one.
- Tool integration: It can use other tools, like generative AI or databases, to get the job done.
- Learning from feedback: It evaluates its own outputs and adjusts based on what’s working (or not).
In an ESG context, that means an AI agent could review hundreds of sustainability reports, flag missing disclosures, identify regulatory changes and disclosure trends, and generate a draft compliance roadmap, all without a human needing to manually prompt each step.
Agentic AI vs. Generative AI
While generative AI is great for producing content or answering questions, it’s inherently reactive. It needs a prompt to act and can’t manage ongoing tasks or adapt over time without human input.
Agentic AI is proactive. It plans, executes, and iterates. That makes it ideal for ESG, where the workload is complex, fast-moving, and highly interdependent.
How agentic AI is transforming ESG research and analysis
Agentic AI is reshaping how ESG research gets done from start to finish. By autonomously handling complex, multi-step workflows, agentic systems can make an ESG team’s work far more efficient, streamlined, and data-driven.
1. Automated framework mapping and gap analysis
Agentic AI can read and analyze hundreds of ESG disclosures, sustainability reports, and regulatory documents, then map them against any number of reporting frameworks, like the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), IFRS S2, or California’s SB 261.
This allows the AI to identify what’s missing in a company’s reporting, flag inconsistencies, and even recommend how to close those gaps. For example, if your climate risk disclosures meet TCFD standards but fall short under CSRD, the AI agent can pinpoint where and why, and suggest how to improve them.
Unlike manual mapping, which is time-consuming and error-prone, agentic AI makes the process fast, repeatable, and transparent. It also keeps evolving: as frameworks change, the system updates its logic, helping companies stay compliant without starting from scratch.
2. Continuous regulatory monitoring
New ESG disclosure requirements are being introduced at a rapid pace. Staying compliant requires constant monitoring. It’s not just about monitoring the regulations, but also keeping on top of guidance updates, enforcement actions, and peer responses.
Agentic AI systems are built for this kind of real-time surveillance. They scan regulatory websites, public filings, and policy updates globally. When something changes—say, the SEC finalizes new climate disclosure rules, or a new interpretation is issued under CSRD—the agent flags it, summarizes the implications, and alerts the right people.
This kind of proactive monitoring means ESG teams no longer need to manually track newsletters, RSS feeds, and industry forums. The AI handles it, giving teams more time to focus on taking action.
3. Competitor and market benchmarking
Understanding how your company stacks up against peers is critical for both compliance and credibility. Agentic AI can analyze competitor disclosures, extract relevant metrics, and generate customized benchmarks on everything from emissions intensity to governance practices.
Let’s say you want to see how your supply chain disclosures compare to other companies in your sector. The AI can pull that data, surface trends, and highlight areas where you’re pulling ahead or falling behind.
It can also monitor how ESG leaders are responding to new requirements or stakeholder pressures, helping you anticipate shifts in reporting norms before they become mandates.
4. Risk identification and scenario modeling
Agentic AI doesn’t just analyze what’s already happened. It can also help forecast what might happen. By combining structured data (like reported emissions, facility locations, and financial metrics) with unstructured inputs (like regulatory updates or climate impact projections), agentic systems can model a wide range of ESG-related risks.
For instance, it might simulate the financial impact of a carbon tax increase on a company’s supply chain, or assess how physical climate risks could affect specific assets or regions under different warming scenarios.
This helps companies move from reactive reporting to proactive risk management, leveraging the outputs of their ESG research to inform strategy, ESG policies, investment decisions, and long-term planning.
5. Workflow orchestration across ESG teams
Agentic AI can also act as a project manager. These systems can help ESG teams coordinate the many moving pieces involved in disclosure and compliance, from data collection and stakeholder interviews to report drafting and approvals.
Instead of relying on scattered spreadsheets and never-ending email threads, ESG teams can assign tasks to an AI agent that manages timelines, ensures dependencies are met, and routes outputs to the right people at the right time.
The result? Smoother workflows, fewer missed deadlines, and more time to focus on the parts of the process that require real human judgment, like shaping strategy and telling a compelling story.
Benefits for ESG teams and financial institutions
The real power of agentic AI lies in what it unlocks for ESG leaders.
Speed up analysis and free up resources
By automating time-intensive tasks, agentic AI gives ESG and sustainability teams more time to focus on strategy and stakeholder engagement rather than manual research.
Increase accuracy and reduce risk of errors
When humans copy and paste across dozens of frameworks and reports, mistakes happen. Agentic systems improve consistency, flag contradictions, and bring traceability to the audit trail.
Enable real-time insights and faster responses
With constant monitoring and analysis, agentic AI helps organizations respond to new regulations, climate disclosures, or stakeholder questions in real time.
Elevate consultancy and financial services
For consulting firms and financial institutions, agentic AI acts as a co-pilot, handling foundational analysis so experts can focus on higher-value work like advising clients, modeling financial risk, or shaping investment strategies.
The future of ESG research with agentic AI
Like the internet transformed how we access information, agentic AI is changing how research gets done. It doesn’t eliminate the need for human expertise, but it redefines what that expertise looks like in practice.
In some ways, agentic AI is to ESG research what the internet was to libraries. When the internet became mainstream, it didn’t make libraries irrelevant, but it did change how we access and apply information. Research that once took hours flipping through reference books could now happen in seconds. But to get the most out of it, users had to develop new skills: how to filter noise, validate sources, and think critically about where information came from.
Agentic AI is the same kind of leap forward. It won’t replace ESG expertise, but it will redefine how that expertise is applied. With these systems, ESG teams can process more information, spot patterns faster, and take smarter action based on real-time insights. But just like the internet, the value of agentic AI depends on how you use it. You still need to know which sources are credible, how to interpret outputs, and when human oversight is essential.
In the next three to five years, we’ll see a shift: the most effective ESG teams won’t be the ones with the most analysts—they’ll be the ones using agentic systems strategically. They’ll know when to rely on AI for speed and coverage, and when to lean in with human judgment. That’s the future: not AI instead of people, but AI alongside people, raising the bar for what’s possible in ESG.
Manifest Climate helps you automate ESG research without compromising accuracy
At Manifest Climate, we’re building agentic systems that work for ESG teams to help:
- Automate gap analysis tailored to your disclosure frameworks
- Monitor ESG risks, trends, and peer activity
- Access actionable, audit-ready outputs without the manual lift
We combine best-in-class AI with ESG expertise so your team can move faster, think bigger, and stay compliant.
Want to see how it works?
