Predictions 2027: The Pursuit And Peril Of Control
Executives have spent the past few years grappling with AI-driven change while chasing its competitive potential. In 2027, AI enters its next phase. Adoption will reach mass scale, AI agents will proliferate, and risks and costs will mount. Leaders will respond by racing to gain control. That pursuit of control will define 2027.
Companies will scramble to modernize core systems and practices as they tighten their grip over data, agents, costs, and even their workforce. They won’t be the only ones vying for control: Wary consumers will push back against algorithmic manipulation and deceitful AI content while business buyers turn to human experts to validate AI’s recommendations. Employees, meanwhile, will resist uses of AI that feel more like surveillance than enablement.
This messy tug-of-war will come with peril. In trying to control AI, too many leaders will inadvertently constrain its value. Overreach will slow innovation, undermine employee initiative, frustrate customers, and further erode trust.
But this tension will also create new opportunity. The organizations that pull ahead won’t try to control every dimension of AI. Instead, they’ll make deliberate choices about where control improves outcomes and where flexibility fuels progress. They’ll favor knowledge over control, invest in private models, and pair AI with human expertise where context, judgment, and accountability matter most. Above all, they’ll focus on the bigger prize: creating differentiated customer value that AI alone can’t deliver.
Our 2027 predictions can help leaders make those choices. Across 31 reports, we explore how these dynamics will unfold across industries, regions, and roles, with research-based insight and advice for what to do now. Forrester clients can access the full reports here; if you’re not a client, explore our guides, blog posts, and upcoming webinars on the public Predictions 2027 hub.
In a year that will often feel out of your control, clarity and purpose will be your greatest assets. Our predictions can help you find and sharpen both.
