Research and advisory firm Gartner, Inc. reports that a low-growth economic environment remains the top emerging risk in the fourth quarter of 2025.
The findings come from the firm’s quarterly emerging risks report, which captures the perspectives of enterprise risk management leaders, risk and assurance professionals, auditors and senior executives on developing and longer-term risks.
The fourth-quarter survey of 367 senior risk and assurance executives found that economic conditions maintained its top ranking for the second consecutive quarter.
Respondents linked their concerns to financial instability, ongoing global trade tensions, labor market challenges, inflationary pressures and financial market volatility. These factors also make economic conditions a top issue in the third quarter of 2025. In addition to economic concerns, risks associated with artificial intelligence were ranked as one of the five most important emerging threats identified by participants.
Gamika Takkar, research director in the Risk and Audit practice at Gartner, commented: “The emergence of new risks in the fourth quarter of 2025 demonstrates continued concerns about economic, geopolitical and environmental issues, as well as growing awareness of potential organizational risks posed by the rapid growth of the use of artificial intelligence inside and outside organizations.”
The report also highlights the increasing adoption of agent AI, with many organizations planning to implement it more broadly within the next two years. While the technology offers opportunities for automation and operational efficiencies, it can also increase existing AI-related risks, including bias, inaccurate output and potential data breaches.
“Agent AI represents a major leap forward in enterprise automation and decision-making,” Thakkar added. “Unlike traditional AI models that require human prompting, agent AI systems can operate autonomously. As agent AI systems gain more autonomy and complexity, human intervention becomes increasingly challenging, thereby raising the stakes of risk management.”
The widespread use of autonomous AI systems highlights the need for stronger oversight, governance frameworks and risk management practices as organizations evaluate deployment strategies, the report said.