Seventy-five percent of new analytics content will be contextualised for intelligent applications through generative AI (GenAI) by 2027, according to a new forecast from Gartner, Inc. The firm predicts a transformation in how businesses consume and act on data, with AI playing a central role in enabling dynamic, perceptive and autonomous decisions.
“We’re moving from an era where analytic tools help business people make decisions, to a future where GenAI-powered analytics becomes perceptive and adaptive,” said Georgia O’Callaghan, Director, Analyst at Gartner. “This will enable composable connections between insights and actions, with the potential to transform enterprise and consumer software, business processes and models.”
The forecast is backed by a Gartner survey of 403 analytics and AI leaders, conducted between October and December 2024. Over 50% of respondents said their organisations already use AI tools for automated insights and natural language queries. However, Gartner notes that many of today’s analytics systems remain static, lacking the responsiveness required to handle fast-evolving data environments.
By 2027, Gartner expects augmented analytics platforms to evolve into autonomous systems, capable of managing and executing up to 20% of business processes without human intervention. These next-generation systems, described as “perceptive analytics”, will be proactive, connected, collaborative, contextual and continuous in how they deliver value.
“Perceptive analytics will use AI agents and other GenAI technologies to continuously monitor conditions like market changes, customer behaviours or supply chain disruptions,” said O’Callaghan. “They will autonomously adapt guidance and outputs to reflect real-world shifts—strengthening business resilience and responsiveness.”
However, Gartner warns of emerging risks. One major concern is over-reliance on autonomous systems without appropriate human oversight. There is also the threat of “agent drift”, where an AI system’s behaviour may unintentionally diverge from expected outcomes due to data evolution or unanticipated inputs.
To mitigate these risks, Gartner highlights the rise of “guardian agents”—AI monitors tasked with enforcing operational rules and governance policies. These agents will be essential in ensuring perceptive analytics systems remain aligned with organisational goals and regulatory requirements.
“Building guardian agents will need to be a key focal point of data governance initiatives as agentic and perceptive analytics become the standard across platforms,” O’Callaghan added.
The findings reinforce the growing imperative for businesses to not only adopt AI-driven analytics but to do so responsibly, with a clear framework for oversight, adaptability and risk management.
