Video · May 19, 2026
Introducing the Agentic Layer
About this video
User experience expectations have shifted permanently, and Finance cannot ignore the change. Tools like Copilot, ChatGPT, and Gemini have reset what professionals consider acceptable when interacting with software: results surfaced in their preferred tool, in their preferred format, in under 30 seconds. Placing an agent between a user and their data unlocks significant productivity at every level of the organization. But for the Office of Finance, that shortcut creates a governance gap that generic agents are not equipped to close. Intercompany relationships, legal entity hierarchies, and M&A-driven ownership structures are not edge cases in Finance. They are the difference between the right number and a defensible-sounding wrong one. OneStream's agentic layer solves this by extending its financial intelligence and governance beyond the platform itself, so Finance teams can work in any agent they choose while every answer remains grounded in OneStream's source of truth.
Key takeaways
- The bar for software interaction has been permanently reset by external agents. Finance professionals now expect any tool to surface the right answer, in the right format, in under 30 seconds. Organizations that require users to navigate multiple dashboards, ERPs, and spreadsheets to assemble a complete picture are already behind, and the gap will widen as agent adoption accelerates across the enterprise.
- Productivity gains from agents come with a governance gap Finance cannot afford to ignore. Generic agents do not understand intercompany relationships, consolidation hierarchies, or changing ownership structures. In the Office of Finance, where the numbers must be right and defensible, an agent that answers quickly but answers incorrectly is not a productivity gain. It is a source of risk that compounds at the speed of AI.
- OneStream's agentic layer delivers agents your way without surrendering control of the truth. By extending OneStream's financial intelligence, workflows, and governance outside the platform, Finance teams can use whichever agentic client they prefer while every insight and every action remains governed by the same rules and context that make OneStream's numbers trustworthy. Teams get flexibility. Leadership gets control.
Video Transcript
We've hit on our native agents. Before we go to the agentic layer specifically, I want to recognize, I think, something that we're all feeling, which there's been a radical change in user experience expectations.
I felt this working now with Microsoft Copilot, Claude Cowork, ChatGPT, Google Gemini. And what we used to tolerate as a user was, hey, if I needed to get an insight, I might actually have to go to three different dashboards, and I might have to go into Excel, into an ERP, into some other system to give the full package to a CFO or another constituent within the business to make a decision.
And at the end of the day, with the advent of these external agents, it's fundamentally changed the way that we think about interacting with software. Now I expect, I think we all are starting to expect, that as an end user, I want to be shown the result in the way that I want to see it, in the language that I speak, and you've got 30 seconds to give me the answer.
Right? That is where we're moving. That's where we're heading as we interact with software. So what can you do about it? Right? As an end user, one of your opportunities is to actually put an agent between yourself and the data.
Right? And there are so many use cases this unlocks. Right? Immense productivity at a personal, a team, and at an organizational level. But the reality is, when you sit inside of the Office of Finance, there's actually another gap that emerges when you just do that.
Right? And that's the governance gap. Right? And we know within the Office of Finance, the numbers cannot be wrong. So what does that governance gap actually look like? Right? The questions that naturally start to emerge are the ones that are maybe a little bit less obvious.
Right? How do I know that an agent is going to be working against my actual source of truth information? Or how do I know that an external agent is going to abide by my intercompany relationships? Or how do I know that when I'm talking about closed consolidation, that I wanted to aggregate up my legal entity hierarchies, not my planning and forecasting hierarchies? Right? Or maybe I'm heavily into M&A as an organization.
How do I know that it's going to be able to abide by my changing ownership structures that we're always dealing with? Right? Those non-obvious but critical to actually getting the right number, that stuff really matters.
So, that's why we're extending the workflows, the processes, the financial intelligence outside the four walls of OneStream. Today, as Tom mentioned, we're incredibly excited to announce OneStream's agentic layer.
Now, whether your teams are working in Copilot, ChatGPT, Claude Cowork, Excel, right, every insight, every action, and every result is grounded in OneStream's financial intelligence. That means you get to have any agent you choose and have every single answer be governed.
So, that's what it means to truly have agents your way. So, now your teams get to work with the tools that they prefer while you get to maintain complete control of the truth. That's the power of the OneStream sensible AI agentic layer.
Related Resources
Demo: Modern Financial Close
OneStream Developer Studio
Learn the value of Agentic Finance
