Organizations Should Invest in the Skills, Roles and Operating Structures that Let People Guide, Govern, Expand and Transition to Autonomous Capabilities
The survey found that workforce reduction rates were nearly equal among respondents reporting higher ROI from autonomous technologies and those experiencing only modest gains or negative outcomes.
Gartner surveyed 350 global business executives in the third quarter of 2025 to understand the current state of autonomous business at enterprises. Qualifying organizations reported enterprisewide annual revenue of at least $1 billion or equivalent, and they had been piloting or had already deployed at least one of the following: AI agents, intelligent automation or autonomous technologies.
Using technologies such as AI agents, intelligent automation, RPA, digital twins and tokenized assets, autonomous business will move organizations from simple augmentation and automation to true autonomy, where both machines and people have more autonomy. This does not mean humanless business; rather, it means human-amplified business.
“Many CEOs turn to layoffs to demonstrate quick AI returns; however, this disposition is misplaced,” said Helen Poitevin, Distinguished VP Analyst at Gartner. “Workforce reductions may create budget room, but they do not create return. Organizations that improve ROI are not those that eliminate the need for people, but those that amplify them by aggressively investing more in skills, roles and operating models that allow humans to guide and scale autonomous systems.”
“Long term, autonomous business will create more work for humans, not less.” – Helen Poitevin, Distinguished VP Analyst at Gartner
Because autonomy will increase for both machines and people, and the need for people will go up, not down, Gartner predicts that autonomous business will be a net-positive job creator by 2028 to 2029, driven by new forms of work that AI cannot absorb.
“Long term, autonomous business will create more work for humans, not less. Lasting structural factors such as demographic decline and high-stakes, trust-dependent consumer moments will ensure human talent remains central to running, governing and scaling autonomous business,” said Poitevin.
