Key Takeaways
- 80% of businesses piloting or deploying autonomous business capabilities also report workforce reductions, a new study finds.
- However, workforce reductions aren’t necessarily leading to higher productivity.
- Instead, several studies support the idea that human talent is necessary in order for businesses to see success with autonomous technologies.
Approximately 80% of the businesses that have piloted or deployed autonomous business capabilities have reported workforce reductions, a new survey reveals.
However, workforce reductions aren’t causing direct return on investment, and it’s predicted over time that autonomous businesses will generate more opportunities for the job market.
Several other surveys suggest human input remains a critical factor in determining how successful businesses are with their AI investments.
Business Using Automation Are Reducing Workforces
According to a new survey conducted by Gartner, around 80% of organizations piloting or deploying autonomous business capabilities have also reported reductions in their workforces.
The adoption of technologies such as AI agents, intelligent automation, digital twins, and tokenized assets will turn businesses from simply augmenting certain processes into truly autonomous organizations, says Gartner.
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Findings are based on a survey of 350 global business executives, within organizations reporting enterprisewide revenue of at least $1 billion or equivalent. They had been piloting or had already deployed at least AI agents, intelligent automation, or autonomous technologies in the third quarter of 2025.
Workforce Reductions Don’t Translate to ROI
Despite the high number of organizations making reductions, this didn’t directly translate to return on investment (ROI). This suggests that replacing human workers with autonomous systems isn’t the best move for businesses wanting to see maximum ROI.
“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.” – Helen Poitevin, distinguished VP analyst at Gartner
Despite the findings above, Gartner predicts autonomous businesses will “create more work for humans, not less,” says Poitevin. This is because they will create new forms of work that AI won’t necessarily be able to absorb.
Likewise, Gartner forecasts organizations will be spending $168.9 billion more on AI agent software from 2026 to 2027. In 2025, the amount of overall spending was only $86.4 billion.
Human Talent Remains Essential for Autonomous Businesses
Ultimately, these findings lend themselves to the theory that human talent remains an essential building block for businesses looking to form their AI castles.
“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 businesses.” – Poitevin
Several studies corroborate the fact that some processes need to remain human-led in order to be successful. For example, a study on email marketing preferences among consumers found that communications that ‘felt human’ were preferred.
Likewise, recent data from Tech.co found that businesses are spending 26% of an hour of AI use reworking output. While this suggests AI slows down productivity, we found that businesses spending more time in the rework phase were more likely to see AI-related productivity gains. This suggests that keeping humans integrated into autonomous systems can be beneficial to overall productivity.
