What Systems Need to Integrate with AI Agents?
Connect customer truth, execution tools, governance, and observability so agents act with context and control.
Executive Summary
Agents need your customer backbone and safety envelope. Integrate CRM, marketing automation, CDP/warehouse, identity & consent, event bus/streaming, CMS and web forms, service/ticketing, calendars/meetings, contact center, commerce/payments, analytics/attribution, and a governed knowledge base. Wrap with IAM/RBAC, a secrets vault, policy validators, observability (traces/costs), budgets/quotas, and a tool registry with approvals.
Guiding Principles
Core Integration Layers
| Item | Definition | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| CRM & MAP | Customer record + outreach automation | Source of truth and execution |
| Identity & Consent | Auth, roles, regional consent states | Safety and compliance |
| Event Bus/Streaming | Real-time events across apps | Reliable triggers and context |
| Knowledge Base | Versioned facts, policies, FAQs | Retrieval-only; reduces errors |
| Observability | Traces, logs, costs, scorecards | Auditability and ROI |
| Tool Registry | Connectors with RBAC, quotas | Prevents overreach and spend |
Decision Matrix: Starter vs. Advanced Stack
| Option | Best for | Pros | Cons | TPG POV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter stack (CRM, MAP, KB, calendar) | Fast pilot | Quick value; low risk | Limited automation depth | Launch here first |
| Growth stack (+ CMS, service desk, event bus) | Cross-channel ops | Better context; handoffs | More governance needed | Add approvals & traces |
| Advanced stack (+ CDP/warehouse, commerce, contact center) | End-to-end orchestration | Full funnel; attribution | Highest complexity | Promote only after gates |
Rollout Playbook (Wire Integrations Safely)
| Step | What to do | Output | Owner | Timeframe |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 — Map | Inventory systems, scopes, owners, limits | Tool registry | RevOps / Platform | 1 week |
| 2 — Govern | Set RBAC, approvals, budgets, and quotas | Policy pack | Governance Board | 1–2 weeks |
| 3 — Connect | Integrate CRM, MAP, identity, KB, calendar | Pilot-ready stack | Platform Owner | 2–3 weeks |
| 4 — Observe | Enable traces, cost meters, scorecards | Telemetry + alerts | AI Lead | 1–2 weeks |
| 5 — Expand | Add CMS, service desk, event bus, analytics | Cross-channel actions | Program Lead | Ongoing |
Metrics & Benchmarks
| Metric | Formula | Target/Range | Stage | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Policy pass rate | Passed checks ÷ Attempts | ≥ 99% | Execute | Hard gate for risky tools |
| Sensitive-step escalation rate | Escalations ÷ Sensitive actions | ≤ 10% | Execute | Lower is safer |
| Tool error rate | Failed calls ÷ Calls | Downward trend | Optimize | Monitor per connector |
| Cost per successful action | Spend ÷ Successes | Downward trend | Optimize | Include LLM + API costs |
| KPI lift vs. control | (Goal KPI AI ÷ Control)−1 | Positive lift | Orchestrate | Attribute by segment |
Deeper Detail
How integrations work together: CRM and MAP provide targets and channels; identity/consent enforces who can do what and where. The event bus supplies timely context (site, product, and ticket events) that trigger agents. A versioned knowledge base feeds retrieval-only facts—product data, policies, pricing bands, and brand voice. CMS, calendar, service desk, contact center, and commerce connectors enable closed-loop actions. Analytics/attribution and the warehouse/CDP close the loop for learning and KPI proof. Surround everything with RBAC, secrets management, approvals, budgets/quotas, feature flags, kill-switches, and observability so every tool call, cost, and outcome is auditable.
TPG POV: We implement agent integrations across HubSpot, Salesforce, Marketo, and Adobe—with governed connectors, policy packs, and scorecards—so agents act with context while your team sees provable impact.
Explore adjacent guidance in the Agentic AI Overview and the AI Agent Implementation Guide, or contact TPG to design your integration roadmap.
Additional Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
No—start with CRM, MAP, identity/consent, and a governed knowledge base. Add CDP/warehouse as you scale personalization and measurement.
Yes for low-risk content behind policy validators. Pricing, legal, or brand-critical pages should require human approval and audit logs.
Use a centralized secrets vault; rotate keys; scope per agent; never embed credentials in prompts or playbooks.
Payments, publishing, bulk email/sms, and data deletion. Gate them with RBAC, quotas, and multi-step approvals plus kill-switches.
Maintain a tool registry with owners, scopes, quotas, and review cadence. Decommission unused connectors and audit access quarterly.