According to the Gartner CEO and Senior Business Executive Survey, which evaluated responses from 469 CEOs and senior executives around the world and over three quarters, ending at the conclusion of 2025, automation capabilities are expected to develop significantly.

Currently, just over 50 per cent of survey participants understood automation as limited to specific tasks – but by the end of 2028, this proportion is expected to shrink to 13 per cent.

At the same time, within these three-year projections, almost a third expect AI to assist human decision making, but 27 per cent anticipate their organisations will move to operation without human intervention, increasing the likelihood of dramatic workforce changes.

Don Scheibenreif, distinguished VP analyst at Gartner, described autonomous business as “a strategy where self-learning software agents and machine customers make decisions, take action and create new types of value for organisations”.

“While digital business changes what the organisation does, autonomous business changes how the organisation does it,” he said.

The signs are increasingly pointing to more than just an adaptation to new technology, but a total revamp. David Furlonger, also a distinguished VP analyst, said: “CEOs are realising that AI is not simply another layer of automation. It is a catalyst for rebuilding the enterprise itself.”

“This transition to autonomous business requires CEOs to have a capabilities-first mindset that prioritises how work gets done and how value is delivered in an increasingly autonomous economy.”

Gartner identified the competitive threat arising from these efficiency gains and how AI could negatively impact profit models. More than a quarter of survey participants felt transactional revenue is most at risk from AI agents, especially by way of bypassing existing systems or conducting real-time pricing and negotiation.

Furlonger highlighted how this removes “the extra steps and inefficiencies that transaction fees were designed to cover”. He added: “This is forcing CEOs to rethink profit models and pivot toward recurring, outcome-based revenue models to avoid losing profit.”

Reassuringly, however, 17 per cent of CEOs actually anticipate significant customer base changes due to AI – a low proportion considering the 39 per cent that expressed concern in this area during the digital era. The survey suggested business leaders are instead harnessing AI to deepen relationships with existing customers and machine customers.

Gartner projects that the number of large companies with business units or sales channels that will access machine customer markets will double from 2024.

In response, Gartner urged the implementation of systems that support human and machine operations, with a focus on trust, accuracy, and data integrity.

Scheibenreif said: “To prepare for this inevitable future, CEOs and CIOs must lead their organisations to rebuild their operational foundations and re-engineer their people, assets, and financial structures.”

This article was originally published on Cyber Daily’s sister brand, Lawyers Weekly.