Annually, the market analysis agency Forrester publishes a report highlighting 10 rising applied sciences poised to remodel the enterprise panorama. Unsurprisingly, agentic AI stood out on this yr’s record.
AI brokers: The promise and danger
The latest Prime 10 Applied sciences for 2025 report from Forrester highlighted AI brokers as a serious tech development that may sweep throughout the personal sector. New agent architectures allow AI instruments to autonomously carry out duties for people and organizations, marking a serious enterprise alternative.
Nonetheless, it wasn’t simply the utility of agentic AI that led to its inclusion within the record; the risks had been additionally an element. As famous within the report, the expertise that powers brokers’ autonomy additionally makes them tougher to foretell and perceive, growing the danger that they may behave in ways in which do not align with the pursuits of human customers.
“Clear boundaries, governance, and belief frameworks should evolve alongside the tech,” Brian Hopkins, vp of Forrester’s Rising Tech portfolio, wrote in a weblog put up the identical day the researcher printed its new report.
Whereas many main tech corporations have just lately launched brokers and companies have begun implementing such methods into their workflows, Forrester predicts it would take a few years or extra earlier than the tech is secure and reliable sufficient for mainstream adoption.
AI mills, robots, artificial knowledge, and extra
Equally, the report discovered that picture and video-generating AI instruments, which have lagged behind text-generating instruments in growth and deployment, can have a extra pronounced impression on industries like advertising and retail throughout the subsequent 5 years.
One other noteworthy point out on this yr’s Forrester report was humanoid robots, which weren’t included within the agency’s prime 20 rising applied sciences final yr. Whereas nonetheless constrained by lofty R&D prices, amongst different elements, the rise of embodied robots that may autonomously transfer and carry out duties, which Forrester predicts will not really get underway for an additional 5 years, might quickly revolutionize companies, in line with the report.
By way of extra instantly impactful traits, or these anticipated to profit companies over the following couple of years, Forrester’s report highlighted Web of Issues safety and artificial knowledge.
Throughout the board, although, Forrester emphasised AI in all its many manifestations because the technological pressure that may have essentially the most pronounced social impression. The researcher suggested enterprise leaders to be proactive.
“As AI turns into ubiquitous, enterprise and expertise leaders ought to prioritize investments that may ship the best impression for his or her organizations when it comes to driving enterprise development, innovation, and aggressive benefit,” Sharyn Leaver, Forrester’s chief analysis officer, mentioned in a press release.
“Regardless of international uncertainty, AI’s fast acceleration will proceed. Enterprises that strategically steadiness AI innovation with danger mitigation will probably be ones that efficiently thrive and obtain sustainable development.”
