Gartner warns against relabelling automation as AI agents

On 20 May 2026, at the Supply Chain Symposium/Xpo in Barcelona, Gartner warned about the risk of agent washing in supply chain planning. This describes a situation in which a vendor labels ordinary automation or a conversational interface as agentic AI, even though the system cannot independently create a plan, choose the optimal option and execute a decision without human intervention. Jan Snoeckx of Gartner said that planning leaders must prepare for an agentic future while separating real capability from market noise. This matters particularly in manufacturing, logistics and retail, where a poor planning decision can quickly lead to supply disruption, excess inventory or breached contractual terms. Gartner argues that most current agentic capabilities mainly improve the user interface. Systems can interpret questions, recommend steps and support dialogue. That is not the same as fully autonomous planning. Real autonomy would require automatic plan creation, scenario selection and connected execution. According to Gartner, vendors promising end-to-end autonomous supply chain planning before 2027 are overstating their capabilities. The purchasing rule is straightforward: do not buy the label, but verify the use case. It makes sense to start where work volume is high, error risk is low and the result can be measured. The legal impact is clear. Once a planning system proposes or executes decisions, the company must show who is responsible for them. In Europe, pressure will grow for audit trails, human oversight, risk management and transparent rules. Agent washing is therefore not only a marketing problem, but also a problem of accountability and supplier governance.

Gartner warns against relabelling automation as AI agents

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