University of Kwazulu-Natal

Forrester S 2026 Predictions Explained Gethegoods Com

Bonisiwe Shabane
-
forrester s 2026 predictions explained gethegoods com

Last week in our What We’re Tracking section, we looked at the rise of intentional experience in an era of digital fatigue, drawing on EY data that shows almost half of younger consumers want... We asked whether brands are designing for presence, ritual and the “step out the door” moment, or simply adding more to the noise. Our newsletter subscribers receive these pieces first before they go live on site, and you can now read that edition here. This week, Forrester’s 2026 predictions arrive and largely formalise what has been visible on the ground for some time. The shift is real and it can be counted. Consumers are saturated, channels are congested.

What is taking shape is a different kind of maturity. Artificial intelligence is moving from novelty to basic infrastructure. Most B2C brands will soon depend on it for personalisation, forecasting, next best action and creative production. Consumers, though, are unlikely to reward a brand simply for “using AI.” What they respond to is something quieter. Fewer steps. Cleaner flows.

A sense of steady support that behaves like a calm guide rather than a sharp redirect. The technology will run through almost every layer of the business, but the brands that distinguish themselves will be the ones that make its presence barely felt. Experience quality is becoming the deciding factor. As budgets tighten and customer expectations rise again, the distance between good and average will stretch. The bar for delight is drifting toward emotional payoff, not just functional efficiency. This brings us back to the terrain we explored last week: ritual, pause, presence.

Consumers want a sense of “less” even as channels keep getting louder. In that environment, the experience stops being the packaging. It becomes the product. After a turbulent 2025 marked by overly enthusiastic AI ambitions, deepening CX fatigue, and ongoing economic volatility, 2026 will bring a year of reckoning. AI missteps will demand a pragmatic reset as wary buyers seek proof over promises. Progress hinges on effective use cases for generative AI and agentic systems as well as renewed offline experiences.

In 2026, successful firms will forgo the hype and focus on tangible outcomes, trust, and customer value. Forrester clients: Take advantage of your exclusive access to our full suite of Predictions 2026 resources. The volatility that technology and security leaders grappled with in 2025 will only intensify in 2026. As budgets get tighter, the margin for error shrinks. Technology and security leaders must step past tech experimentation and deliver measurable, secure business outcomes. The race to trusted business value is on.

What’s driving AI investment shifts? What direction will quantum security and neoclouds take? Forrester’s 2026 Predictions guide explores the questions that tech and security leaders must answer. In 2026, technology and security leaders will be under pressure to deliver real, defensible value. Join us for a webinar to learn how trust, value, and evidence-based decisions will define your success. Economic and geopolitical volatility kept business and tech leaders on edge in 2025, and 2026 won’t offer much relief.

Yet the atmosphere will be a little more subdued next year as AI exuberance cools and companies reckon with early missteps and inflated promises. There will be a yearning for clarity — and a race to differentiate on trust and genuine value. Forrester’s 2026 predictions provide research-based insight and advice for building a clear path forward. Our reports, which span 29 roles, regions, and industries, include specific calls to help leaders anticipate what’s ahead and succeed despite uncertainty. (Clients can access the full reports here; if you’re not a client, explore function-specific guides, blog posts, and upcoming webinars on our public Predictions 2026 hub.) Navigating the coming year will take some mindset shifts: from lofty ambition to pragmatism, from experimentation to accountability, from surface-level engagement to meaningful connection.

Savvy leaders across marketing, CX, and tech will recalibrate their strategies as buyers demand proof, consumers seek authenticity, and AI deployments face constant scrutiny. To win the race to trust and value, they will push for operational discipline and smarter governance of AI — and, in parallel, resurface the importance of human insight. Innovation will continue, offering opportunities for those who apply the right lessons from 2025. Agentic systems will begin to take hold, AI-native neoclouds will gain traction and funding, and generative AI will make specialized advice more accessible. To capitalize on these shifts, resist the pull of vendor hype and focus on where technology can truly move the needle. Apply it with purpose, align it to outcomes, and prioritize capabilities that deliver real value for your organization and, more importantly, for your customers.

In a year defined by continued volatility, clarity will be your greatest asset. Our predictions can help you gain that clarity. In 2026, leaders will confront the challenge of balancing ambitious AI initiatives with economic uncertainty and growing customer fatigue. Missteps in large-scale AI deployments will force a pragmatic reset. Human expertise will regain importance as buyers seek deeper validation, and offline brand experiences will see renewed interest. Leaders must move beyond the hype, build resilient AI strategies, and ensure every investment delivers measurable value and trust for their customers.

Forrester has unveiled its top customer experience predictions for 2026 — warning of AI scandals, CX “death spirals,” and the end of traditional journey mapping It’s that time of year again: customer experience predictions season. The nights are drawing in, the temperature is dropping, and CX analysts from across the globe are dusting off their crystal balls. While you can expect an onslaught of predictions over the coming months, very few will have the prestige of Forrester, a leading global research and advisory firm with expertise in the CX space. In a blog post discussing the current and future state of customer experience, Maxie Schmidt, VP and Principal Analyst at Forrester, described 2025 as “another tough year for CX teams.” The wait is over.

Forrester’s 2026 Predictions are here. 🔮 This year, the message is clear: volatility isn’t slowing down, but opportunity belongs to those grounded in evidence over hype. Chief Research Officer Sharyn Leaver, shares how leaders will prioritize validation, accountability, and operational rigor, and why the race to trust and value will define 2026. Our new 2026 Predictions hub explores how these dynamics will reshape technology, B2B and B2C growth, and CX across every region. https://forr.com/430GZUv #ForresterPredictions You can also learn more about Predictions launch in Sharyn’s blog here: https://forr.com/47uykv5

In a world of nonstop volatility, leaders who lean into evidence over hype will win. Hear from Chief Research Officer Sharyn Leaver on why trust, validation, and operational rigor will shape the year ahead — and how tech, CX, and growth strategies will evolve across the globe. 👉 Explore the hub: https://forr.com/430GZUv #ForresterPredictions The wait is over. Forrester’s 2026 Predictions are here. 🔮 This year, the message is clear: volatility isn’t slowing down, but opportunity belongs to those grounded in evidence over hype.

Chief Research Officer Sharyn Leaver, shares how leaders will prioritize validation, accountability, and operational rigor, and why the race to trust and value will define 2026. Our new 2026 Predictions hub explores how these dynamics will reshape technology, B2B and B2C growth, and CX across every region. https://forr.com/430GZUv #ForresterPredictions 🔮Forrester 2026 Predictions are live with research & webinars. Chief Research Officer Sharyn Leaver, shares how leaders will prioritize validation, accountability, and operational rigor, and why the race to trust and value will define 2026. Our new 2026 Predictions hub explores how these dynamics will reshape technology, B2B and B2C growth, and CX across every region.

https://forr.com/430GZUv If you are not a Forrester Client and interested in getting access to a Predictions report, message me and we can set up time to connect. #2026predictions #predictions #volatility #transformation 2026 will be a year of correction — not collapse — for artificial intelligence. After a decade of soaring expectations, Forrester predicts a decisive shift toward value discipline, governance maturity, and renewed trust in human expertise. Budgets will tighten, talent shortages will intensify, and regulatory pressure will climb. Yet amid this friction lies the real story: AI is finally being forced to prove its worth.

In this article, we examine Forrester’s key predictions for 2026 and pair them with expert analysis from our leadership team. Their commentary goes beyond the headlines, offering concrete recommendations for CEOs, CIOs, CFOs, and business executives navigating one of the most pivotal transformations in enterprise technology. 25% of AI spend by enterprises will be delayed into 2027 Despite bold investment, AI returns remain elusive — only a fraction of firms can link AI to profit growth. As CFOs tighten oversight, projects with unclear ROI will stall, shifting one-quarter of planned budgets into 2027. This slowdown will expose the gap between marketing hype and business impact, forcing organizations to prioritize measurable value and renegotiate inflated vendor costs.

CFOs are stepping in because the value story no longer matches the invoices. AI programs that can’t link outcomes to the profit and loss statement will stall — and executives who don’t instrument value creation will lose budget before they lose faith. This shift isn’t anti-AI; it’s anti-wishful thinking. According to Forrester’s (Nasdaq: FORR) 2026 technology and security predictions, AI will face a reckoning next year — the gap between inflated vendor promises and the value delivered to enterprises is widening, forcing a... With fewer than one-third of decision-makers able to tie the value of AI to their organization’s financial growth, CEOs will lean more on their CFOs to approve AI investments based on their ROI in... As financial rigor slows production deployments and wipes out proofs of concept, enterprises will defer a quarter of their planned AI spend into 2027.

Forrester’s Predictions reports offer forward-looking insights into trends and signals that empower leaders and their teams to think beyond the conventional and ignite bold ideas in the year ahead. Forrester’s technology and security predictions cover topics including: artificial intelligence; automation and robotics; tech leadership; cloud computing; tech infrastructure and operations; enterprise software; software development; cybersecurity and risk; and smart manufacturing and mobility. Key highlights from Forrester’s 2026 technology and security predictions include: “In 2026, the AI hype period ends as the pressure to deliver real, measurable results from secure AI initiatives intensifies,” said Sharyn Leaver, chief research officer at Forrester. “As the era of volatility continues, tech and security leaders will be called upon to recalibrate investments under tighter financial scrutiny and governance while navigating increasingly complex geopolitical and economic risks. Forrester’s predictions are designed to help leaders make confident decisions by understanding the forward-looking trends that will shape their industry, function, and role in the year ahead.”

People Also Search

Last Week In Our What We’re Tracking Section, We Looked

Last week in our What We’re Tracking section, we looked at the rise of intentional experience in an era of digital fatigue, drawing on EY data that shows almost half of younger consumers want... We asked whether brands are designing for presence, ritual and the “step out the door” moment, or simply adding more to the noise. Our newsletter subscribers receive these pieces first before they go live ...

What Is Taking Shape Is A Different Kind Of Maturity.

What is taking shape is a different kind of maturity. Artificial intelligence is moving from novelty to basic infrastructure. Most B2C brands will soon depend on it for personalisation, forecasting, next best action and creative production. Consumers, though, are unlikely to reward a brand simply for “using AI.” What they respond to is something quieter. Fewer steps. Cleaner flows.

A Sense Of Steady Support That Behaves Like A Calm

A sense of steady support that behaves like a calm guide rather than a sharp redirect. The technology will run through almost every layer of the business, but the brands that distinguish themselves will be the ones that make its presence barely felt. Experience quality is becoming the deciding factor. As budgets tighten and customer expectations rise again, the distance between good and average wi...

Consumers Want A Sense Of “less” Even As Channels Keep

Consumers want a sense of “less” even as channels keep getting louder. In that environment, the experience stops being the packaging. It becomes the product. After a turbulent 2025 marked by overly enthusiastic AI ambitions, deepening CX fatigue, and ongoing economic volatility, 2026 will bring a year of reckoning. AI missteps will demand a pragmatic reset as wary buyers seek proof over promises. ...

In 2026, Successful Firms Will Forgo The Hype And Focus

In 2026, successful firms will forgo the hype and focus on tangible outcomes, trust, and customer value. Forrester clients: Take advantage of your exclusive access to our full suite of Predictions 2026 resources. The volatility that technology and security leaders grappled with in 2025 will only intensify in 2026. As budgets get tighter, the margin for error shrinks. Technology and security leader...