Forrester says rising AI costs will lead B2C firms to scale back initiatives
Its 2027 predictions say B2C marketing leaders will scale back one-third of AI initiatives as usage-based pricing makes agent activity and generated content billable. Forrester also expects a 20% increase in CX staffing and renewed emphasis on human-generated content.
Event / data period: 2026-10-21
Published: · Updated:
Forrester published its 2027 B2C marketing, customer experience and digital predictions on 21 October, forecasting that rising AI costs will lead leaders to scale back one-third of AI initiatives. The firm links the forecast to growing usage and martech vendors’ shift toward usage-based pricing, under which agent interactions, generated assets and automated workflows incur charges.
The predictions also forecast a 20% rise in customer-experience staffing after cuts, with hiring focused on roles that support AI, and say human-generated content will become a top priority again for half of brands. These are Forrester projections for 2027, not observed changes or measured outcomes.
Data
Forrester says rising AI costs will lead B2C firms to scale back initiatives
- Forecast rise in customer-experience staffing in 2027
- 20 percent
- 2027 · Forecast
- Forecast share of brands reprioritizing human-generated content in 2027
- 50 percent
- 2027 · Forecast
Methodology
Values are Forrester’s 21 October 2026 forecasts for 2027, not realized outcomes. The one-third forecast is kept in prose rather than converted to an invented percentage.
Updated:
Subjects and places
Subject proposals
- Business enterpriseSuggested
- Preserved editorial category/topic; broad candidate onlywww.forrester.com ↗
- Artificial intelligenceSuggested
- Subject suggested from the title or summary: AIwww.forrester.com ↗