Smart Tags to Brain-Machine Interfaces: Gartner's Top 10 Strategic Tech Trends for 2025

Technologies continue to advance at a rapid speed, significantly impacting the way companies operate their businesses by creating new efficiencies and elevating experiences. 

Gartner recently identified the top 10 strategic technology trends that organizations should explore in 2025 — and some could have an impact on the consumer goods space. 

“This year’s top strategic technology trends span AI imperatives and risks, new frontiers of computing, and human-machine synergy,” said Gene Alvarez, distinguished VP analyst at Gartner, in a statement. “Tracking these trends will help IT leaders shape the future of their organizations with responsible and ethical innovation.” 

Ambient Invisible Intelligence

One such technology already has direct implications for the retail and consumer goods industry. The company expects ambient invisible intelligence tech (smart tags and sensors) to be integrated with everyday life, such as checking retail stock or automating logistics for perishable goods through low-cost, real-time product tracking. 

Gartner's Prediction: Through 2027, early examples will enable low-cost, real-time tracking and sensing of items to improve visibility and efficiency.

Agentic AI

The trend toward automated decision-making continues with enormous potential for agentic AI models to autonomously plan and take action to achieve company goals. 

Gartner’s Prediction: By 2028, at least 15% of day-to-day work decisions will be delegated to a virtual workforce using agentic AI — up from 0% in 2024. 

AI Governance Platforms

IT leaders should look out for AI governance platforms to create, manage, and enforce policies for responsible AI use, according to Gartner. 

Gartner’s Prediction: By 2028, those implementing AI governance platforms should see 40% fewer AI-related ethical incidents. 

Polyfunctional Robots

Polyfunctional robots are taking on multitasking instead of just single, repetitive tasks, able to expedite deployment and provide easy scalability.

Gartner’s Prediction: By 2030, 80% of humans will engage with smart robots on a daily basis, up from less than 10% today. 

Neurological Enhancement

Humans will be able to tap into brain function to decode activity and elevate upskilling, marketing, and performance. The tech reads a person’s brain through unidirectional brain-machine interfaces or bidirectional brain-machine interfaces (BBMIs). 

Gartner’s Prediction: By 2030, 30% of knowledge workers will be enhanced by, and dependent on, bidirectional brain-machine interfaces to stay relevant with the rise of AI in the workplace — an increase from less than 1% in 2024. 

Hybrid Computing

Gartner says we can expect hybrid models combining different compute, storage, and network mechanisms to solve computational problems, helping to foster environments in which AI can push past existing limitations. 

Gartner’s Prediction: Hybrid computing will create highly efficient, transformative innovation environments that are more effective than traditional environments.

Energy-Efficient Computing

There will be a more sustainable take on computing, with optical, neuromorphic, and novel accelerators merging for specialized tasks such as AI and optimization while consuming less energy than traditional computes. 

Gartner’s Prediction: Compute-intensive applications, including AI training, simulation, optimization, and media rendering, likely contribute the most to organizations' carbon footprint as they consume the most energy. Starting in the late 2020s, new technologies will consume less energy.

Postquantum Cryptography

Postquantum cryptography is emerging as a more appropriate security tool for quantum computing, which continues to develop. Though this space is still in its infancy stages, companies like Unilever and Microsoft are working together to prepare for the future of quantum computing within product development. 

Gartner’s Prediction: Widely-used conventional cryptography will likely come to an end as quantum computing progresses. By 2029, continued advancements will make conventional asymmetric cryptography unsafe to use.