A[Agency: Agent-based AI technology has become the primary focus of enterprises, and physical AI is expected to become a new important driving force] On August 31, the consulting agency Gartner recently released the 2026 China Data, Analysis and Artificial Intelligence Technology Hype Cycle. Fang Qi, senior research director at Gartner, said that the curve can be divided into four major technology clusters, and these four technology clusters show a certain trend: "Agent AI technology surpasses generative AI, reaches a period of inflated expectations, and becomes the primary focus of enterprises; generative AI slides into the trough period of bubble bursting, and enterprise expectations become more rational and emphasizes the realization of verifiable business value; physical AI rises rapidly and attracts public attention. It is expected to become an important driving force for the next round of breakthrough innovation; the success of AI plans increasingly depends on the construction of solid basic capabilities, including data readiness, governance mechanisms, safety guardrails, and engineering capabilities. The importance of these supporting environment foundations has exceeded the AI model technology itself." Fang Qi also pointed out that according to observations, forward deployment engineers (FDE) and context engineers are currently the two most heated aspects of customer discussion.
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