Tech giants have embraced and circulated their AI tools at an unprecedented rate, but there has been little thought with regard to the long-term implications of these tools and how relevant they will be in the long run. A new report from Gartner made some predictions with regard to agentic AI, suggesting that 40% of them may be scrapped by 2027. Major investments have been made to build AI tools in-house or borrow adjacent tech from other businesses, but in many cases, these tools are limited in their capacity and inept at accomplishing what is expected of them.
With the rushed adoption of AI, businesses are unaware of where to take this technology next. From surging business costs with keeping these tools active to the lack of clarity on what to do with these agentic tools, it is possible that businesses will soon come to regret the hasty adoption of tech that doesn’t necessarily benefit them.
Of course, this does not mean a total failure of AI projects, however, companies that don’t want to regret their investments should consider slowing down expenditure and planning ahead for their next step.
Image: Pexels
Agentic AI Predictions for 2027 Suggest Businesses Will Soon Cancel Projects
Gartner, Inc., a leading provider of business insights, recently revealed that “Over 40% of agentic AI projects will be canceled by the end of 2027, due to escalating costs, unclear business value or inadequate risk controls.”
According to the report, most of the agentic AI projects today are “early stage experiments or proof of concepts,” and are being driven by a desire to see what the hype is about without active consideration of how it will be deployed at scale. The challenges that are expected to accompany this deployment remain unexplored, leaving businesses thoroughly unprepared for what is to come.
Gartner conducted a poll of 3,412 webinar attendees, who revealed that 19% of their organizations had already invested heavily in agentic AI, while 42% had made conservative investments. Around 8% had made no investments, and 31% were waiting to see how they could invest in AI.
Everything Is Not What It Seems—Not All AI is Agentic AI
We’ve all experimented with AI tools at one point or another, either to get summarized responses for quick questions or to generate material for work and personal use. Agentic AI refers to a more advanced system of these tools, which are designed to operate autonomously without human supervision. These tools are more capable of sophisticated reasoning and decision making, opening up the potential for a more independent presence at an organization.
Agentic AI tools are expected to be more advanced than their counterparts, however, Gartner believes that many vendors are “agent washing” and making their tools appear more advanced than they actually are. Many are rebranding existing tools to fit the narrative without substantially building up their capabilities, and the reports estimate that only around 130 of the thousands of agentic AI vendors are real.
These misleading tools are convincing businesses to invest in their future potential, and due to a lack of experience with these services, many organizations are falling victim to investments that don’t serve them well.
Some Agentic AI Projects May Be Scrapped by 2027, but Not All of Them Are Ineffective
While the report states that 40% of agentic AI could be canceled by 2027, it also doesn’t presume that such AI tools will become entirely redundant. These services have the genuine potential to revolutionize a business, and if applied effectively, could be a turning point in the capabilities of any organization.
The predictions in the report suggest that at least 15% of day-to-day work decisions could be made autonomously by the agentic AI by 2028. It also indicates that 33% of enterprise software applications could include agentic AI in some form or the other. These numbers aren’t an optimistic estimate but a realistic one. Agentic AI tools are capable of simplifying and furthering work, but they need to be built correctly and applied carefully, with a clear image of their application and ROI before investments are made.
“To get real value from agentic AI, organizations must focus on enterprise productivity, rather than just individual task augmentation,” said Anushree Verma, Senior Director Analyst, Gartner. “They can start by using AI agents when decisions are needed, automation for routine workflows, and assistants for simple retrieval. It’s about driving business value through cost, quality, speed, and scale.”
Plan Ahead and Invest in the Right AI Tools
Agentic AI tools have their advantages, and it can be beneficial for organizations to start exploring potential AI investments right now. That said, it’s important to make an informed decision on the right tools after thoroughly investigating their capabilities and their potential applications in any business. Organizations need to get their employees involved in understanding and exploring these tools, particularly their HR department, to explore how investing in agentic AI can benefit the business.
All investments should include a cost-benefit analysis for long-term use, going beyond the initial expenses to evaluate whether the investment is sustainable. Most agentic AI tools will require some amount of reengineering, training, support, and continued investment into helping them keep up with the times. They are not infallible and require constant investigations to ensure they stay on the intended track.
Many businesses are laying off workers and cutting labor costs to prioritize AI, but this is not a sustainable solution. Regardless of the potential of AI, some human supervision will always be necessary, and as such, organizations will always have to keep workers around—they cannot sink their funds solely into ineffective AI tools in hopes of seeing positive results.
We are still in the early days of setting up agentic AI systems, and while it is good to start familiarizing the business with their use, it is also important to stay wary of their limitations.
What do you think about these agentic AI predictions? Let us know if you agree or disagree with the numbers. Subscribe to The HR Digest for more insights into the ever-evolving landscape of work and employment.
