Volatility has become a familiar backdrop for business and technology leaders, but it isn’t dampening budget optimism as 2027 comes into view. Forrester’s latest Budget Planning Survey shows that in the next 12 months, more than 80% of leaders expect their overall budget to increase, and up to one-quarter believe it will increase by 10% or more.

This is a good place to be — but only if leaders resist the urge to default to familiar spending patterns. As AI reshapes every function and every customer, more budget won’t drive better outcomes. Without a stronger operational foundation, deeper AI expertise, and new ways of working, increased spend will reinforce the very inefficiencies leaders need to escape.

Forrester’s just-published 2027 Budget Planning Guides are designed to help Forrester clients make the most of increased spend. The guides provide data-driven, actionable advice for technology, marketing, customer experience, digital, and other go-to-market leaders on where to invest, pull back, experiment, and avoid to fuel growth.

Here’s a small sample of our key recommendations for 2027:

  • Invest in enterprise context that agents can act on. AI agents can’t act on what they can’t read — and most enterprise knowledge is still invisible to them. Build (or buy) a governed, machine‑readable knowledge layer that lets agents move across systems, stay aligned to policy, and adapt as your business changes. Most firms will underinvest here, which is exactly why it’s an opportunity to pull ahead fast.
  • Spend on brand visibility in answer engines. What shows up on Reddit, YouTube, and review platforms often matters more to answer engines than anything on your site. To shape brand perception and how your brand shows up in AI-driven results, invest in tools and programs that monitor customer sentiment, surface real questions, and amplify credible voices (e.g., customers, experts, and partners).
  • Stop funding dysfunctional AI activity. Too many AI efforts increase output with no value. Before investing further, be sure you have a clear strategy, governance, decision ownership, and shared success metrics. Focus AI efforts where they can truly compound value — not just scale dysfunction. Isolate AI’s impact and test whether results can scale across teams and use cases before moving forward.
  • Experiment with synthetic data to accelerate insight. Synthetic data is gaining traction for faster insights and always-on feedback. But synthetic data should complement — not replace — real-world inputs, especially given the risk of bias. Run targeted experiments, like pairing synthetic personas with real customers in concept testing, to understand when it delivers reliable direction.

In 2027, AI will continue raising the ceiling on what’s possible — and exposing where organizations aren’t ready. Use this planning cycle to reset where you invest, not just how much you spend. Forrester clients can dive deeper across all 12 Budget Planning Guides and connect with our analysts to pressure-test plans and priorities.

Not yet a client but want to learn more? Get in touch.

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