Forrester Predicts APAC Leaders Will Redraw AI Boundaries
Asia Pacific leaders face challenges in controlling AI as it becomes more embedded in economies and daily life. Forrester predicts that leaders who establish clear boundaries will scale AI with more resilience and trust.
Original reporting · forrester.com
Original: “Predictions 2027: APAC Leaders Redraw The Boundaries Of AI Control”
Read “Predictions 2027: APAC Leaders Redraw The Boundaries Of AI Control” at Forrester →
How this was written. Message Verified wrote this article with a language model from Forrester’s reporting (model: @cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast); it describes that reporting rather than adding to it. The original, linked above, is the full story.
Key points from Forrester’s report
- APAC leaders will need to establish clear control and accountability over AI in 2027.
- One in five large, regulated APAC enterprises will adopt Chinese open-weight models.
- Unmanaged agents will pose a significant risk to APAC enterprises if not properly governed.
- Some consumer-facing brands will differentiate themselves by emphasizing human involvement.
- Establishing clear boundaries and control over AI will be crucial for scaling its use with resilience and trust.
In 2026, the Asia Pacific region shifted from experimenting with artificial intelligence to adopting it in a more practical way. According to Forrester, 2027 will bring a new challenge: determining who controls AI and is accountable for its actions.
As AI becomes more deeply ingrained in the region's economies, enterprises, and daily life, several factors will make it more difficult to expand. These factors include geopolitical tension, trade restrictions, energy constraints, and low consumer trust.
Forrester reported that APAC leaders will need to make deliberate choices about where AI is used, what it can access, and when human intervention is necessary. This will involve establishing control, accountability, and trust as AI crosses various boundaries.
One key prediction is that one in five large, regulated APAC enterprises will adopt Chinese open-weight models. This is because having control over a model's weights gives enterprises more control over how and where it is used.
Another prediction is that one in three large APAC enterprises will discover a significant problem with unmanaged agents. These agents, which are built by employees or embedded by software vendors, can pose a risk to the enterprise if they are not properly governed.
Forrester also predicts that some of the region's largest consumer-facing brands will differentiate themselves by emphasizing human involvement in certain areas. This will involve identifying moments where human judgment or expertise is most valuable and organizing governance and service delivery around those moments.
In 2027, APAC leaders who establish clear boundaries and control over AI will be better able to scale its use with resilience and trust. Those who do not will face rising costs, unmanaged risk, and customer distrust.
Questions and answers
What is the main challenge for APAC leaders in 2027?
The main challenge is determining who controls AI and is accountable for its actions as it becomes more embedded in economies and daily life.
What is the predicted outcome for APAC leaders who do not establish clear boundaries and control over AI?
Those who do not establish clear boundaries and control over AI will face rising costs, unmanaged risk, and customer distrust.
How can APAC enterprises mitigate the risk of unmanaged agents?
APAC enterprises can mitigate this risk by establishing an agent rationalization program and requiring every production agent to have a unique identity, an accountable owner, and a defined retirement path.
