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Gartner predicts 40%+ agentic AI projects will be cancelled by 2027
webIndustry analyst forecast relevant to AI deployment risk and governance; useful for understanding real-world barriers to agentic AI scaling and the gap between hype and safe, value-driven deployment practices.
Metadata
Importance: 42/100press releasenews
Summary
Gartner forecasts that over 40% of agentic AI projects will be canceled by 2027 due to escalating costs, unclear business value, and inadequate risk controls. The report highlights widespread 'agent washing' by vendors and warns that most current agentic AI deployments are hype-driven experiments lacking genuine autonomy or ROI. Despite near-term failures, Gartner predicts significant long-term adoption, with 15% of daily work decisions made autonomously by 2028.
Key Points
- •Over 40% of agentic AI projects expected to be canceled by 2027 due to cost overruns, poor ROI, and insufficient risk controls.
- •Widespread 'agent washing' inflates the market—Gartner estimates only ~130 of thousands of agentic AI vendors offer genuine agentic capabilities.
- •Most current agentic AI use cases don't actually require agentic implementations; simpler automation or assistants often suffice.
- •Gartner predicts 15% of day-to-day work decisions will be made autonomously by 2028, up from 0% in 2024.
- •Recommendation: pursue agentic AI only where clear value exists; rethink workflows from scratch rather than bolting agents onto legacy systems.
Cited by 1 page
| Page | Type | Quality |
|---|---|---|
| Agentic AI | Capability | 68.0 |
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[Newsroom](https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom)/[Information Technology](https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/topics/Information%20Technology)/Press Release
# Gartner Predicts Over 40% of Agentic AI Projects Will Be Canceled by End of 2027
SYDNEY, Australia, June 25, 2025
## Analysts to Explore Agentic AI Trends During Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo, September 8-10 on the Gold Coast
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 Gartner, Inc.
“Most agentic AI projects right now are early stage experiments or proof of concepts that are mostly driven by hype and are often misapplied,” said [Anushree Verma](https://www.gartner.com/en/experts/anushree-verma), Senior Director Analyst, Gartner. “This can blind organizations to the real cost and complexity of deploying [AI agents at scale](https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2025-03-03-gartner-identifies-three-areas-to-help-data-and-analytics-leaders-scale-ai), stalling projects from moving into production. They need to cut through the hype to make careful, [strategic decisions](https://www.gartner.com/en/information-technology/topics/ai-strategy-for-business) about where and how they apply this emerging technology.”
According to a January 2025 Gartner poll of 3,412 webinar attendees, 19% said their organization had made significant investments in agentic AI, 42% had made conservative investments, 8% no investments, with the remaining 31% taking a wait and see approach or are unsure.
Many vendors are contributing to the hype by engaging in “agent washing” – the rebranding of existing products, such as AI assistants, robotic process automation (RPA) and chatbots, without substantial agentic capabilities. Gartner estimates only about 130 of the thousands of agentic AI vendors are real.
“Most agentic AI propositions lack significant value or return on investment (ROI), as current models don’t have the maturity and agency to autonomously achieve complex business goals or follow nuanced instructions over time,” said Verma. “Many use cases positioned as agentic today don’t require agentic implementations.”
**Realizing Business Value**
Despite these initial challenges, the trend toward agentic AI represents a leap forward in AI capabilities and market opportunity. [Agentic AI](https://www.gartner.com/en/doc/best-practices-preparing-for-ai-agent-services-opportunities) will provide new means to enhance resource efficiency, automate complex tasks and introduce new business innovations, beyond the capabilities of scripted automation bots and virtual assistants.
Gartner predicts at least 15% of day-to-day work decisions will be made autonomously through agentic AI by 2028, up from 0% in 2024. In addition, 33% of enterprise software applications will include agentic AI by 2028, up from less than 1% in 2024.
In this early stage, Gartner recommends agentic AI only be pursued where it del
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