Gartner predicts 70% of firms will drop vendor-built agentic AI by 2028

On September 29 2026 Gartner released a forecast that 70 % of enterprises will abandon agentic AI built via vendor Forward Deployed Engineering (FDE) by 2028 link. The prediction cites ballooning maintenance costs, inability of internal teams to modify or operate the system, and continued reliance on expensive external firms as primary drivers.

Gartner distinguishes FDE from traditional outsourcing, noting that embedding vendor engineers creates proprietary solutions that become costly dead ends. It estimates fewer than 20 % of FDE projects will see customer needs folded into the vendor’s standard products by 2028, and warns of “FDE washing,” where routine consulting is rebranded as FDE with premium fees.

The firm recommends three decision points: before signing, define outcome ownership, knowledge-transfer terms and exit responsibilities; during implementation, integrate internal staff with vendor engineers and set verification boundaries; and at project end, ensure the organization can operate and scale the AI independently before withdrawing. Limiting FDE to truly complex integrations and using standard partner frameworks for routine work is presented as a way to keep costs predictable and retain internal control.