Gartner just published an “AI Techniques Heat Map” — a matrix matching AI approaches (Generative Models, Optimization, Simulation, etc.) to use cases (Prediction, Planning, Decision Intelligence, etc.) with Low/Medium/High suitability ratings.
It’s technically competent. It’s visually clean. And it’s completely disconnected from the reality of why AI implementations fail.
What the Heat Map Shows:
Which AI technique fits which problem type. That’s it. A menu.
What the Heat Map Doesn’t Show:
- Organizational readiness
- Human agent factors
- Incentive alignment
- Data governance maturity
- Behavioral adoption barriers
- The 80% failure rate that Gartner itself has documented
The Unstated Assumption:
“Match the right technique to the right use case, and success follows.”
That’s equation-based thinking applied to an agent-based problem. It treats AI implementation as a technical selection exercise, not an organizational readiness challenge.
The Question They Don’t Ask:
An organization with low readiness looking at this heat map is like someone with a heart condition studying a steakhouse menu. The options are real. The ability to safely consume them is not.
Before you pick a cell on this matrix, someone should be asking:
- What’s your readiness score for this use case?
- Which human agents will be affected?
- Are their incentives aligned with the desired outcome?
- Do you have the governance to sustain this?
Why They Can’t Ask These Questions:
Because the answers would tell 40-60% of their audience: “You’re not ready — don’t buy yet.”
That kills vendor subscriptions. That disrupts the revenue model. So the heat map stays technical, stays optimistic, and stays silent on the human strand.
This is The Revenue Trap visualized in a single artifact.
The World Models Connection:
Even the AI research community is pivoting toward “World Models” — systems that attempt to model causality, not just correlation. They’re acknowledging that pattern-matching on data exhaust isn’t enough.
But here’s the problem: World Models still start from data, not from agents. They still miss the human strand. And Gartner’s heat map reflects the same blind spot — it assumes the technical selection is the decision, when the technical selection is actually the last decision after readiness has been established.
The Hansen Fit Score Alternative:
Before you look at any menu, you need a diagnosis:
- Phase 0 Assessment: Are you structurally positioned to absorb this technology?
- Human Strand Mapping: Do your agents understand why they’re adopting this? Are their incentives aligned?
- Readiness Score: Not which AI is “suitable” — but whether you are suitable for AI.
Gartner asks: “Which technique fits your use case?”
HFS asks: “Are you ready for any technique at all?”
The Bottom Line:
This heat map will drive webinar registrations. It will generate engagement. It will be shared in boardrooms as “guidance.”
And it will contribute to the next wave of the 80% failure rate — because it tells organizations what to order without ever asking if they should be at the restaurant.
Enough is enough.
If you want to understand why this approach keeps failing — and what the alternative looks like — here are two papers that go deeper:
- The Revenue Trap: Why the analyst and consulting industry is structurally incapable of leading transformation
- World Models and the Human Strand: Why AI architects keep missing the layer where causality actually lives
Both available for 30-day free download with provided (codes): The Revenue Trap Why Big Firms Can’t Afford the Next Technology Wave, AND Why aren’t LeCun and Bezos asking these same questions?” A Multimodel Assessment of Why World Models Miss the Human Strand
Code | Channel — USE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING CODES TO DOWNLOAD YOUR COPY AT $0.00
- LINKEDIN25 — LinkedIn connections
- PHASEZERO — Readiness Scorecard completers
- METEOR2025 — Webinar attendees
- INSIGHTS25 — Procurement Insights subscribers
- REFERRED — Colleague referrals
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Procurement Insights
Gartner’s AI Heat Map: A Restaurant Menu for the 80%
Posted on December 8, 2025
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Gartner just published an “AI Techniques Heat Map” — a matrix matching AI approaches (Generative Models, Optimization, Simulation, etc.) to use cases (Prediction, Planning, Decision Intelligence, etc.) with Low/Medium/High suitability ratings.
It’s technically competent. It’s visually clean. And it’s completely disconnected from the reality of why AI implementations fail.
What the Heat Map Shows:
Which AI technique fits which problem type. That’s it. A menu.
What the Heat Map Doesn’t Show:
The Unstated Assumption:
“Match the right technique to the right use case, and success follows.”
That’s equation-based thinking applied to an agent-based problem. It treats AI implementation as a technical selection exercise, not an organizational readiness challenge.
The Question They Don’t Ask:
An organization with low readiness looking at this heat map is like someone with a heart condition studying a steakhouse menu. The options are real. The ability to safely consume them is not.
Before you pick a cell on this matrix, someone should be asking:
Why They Can’t Ask These Questions:
Because the answers would tell 40-60% of their audience: “You’re not ready — don’t buy yet.”
That kills vendor subscriptions. That disrupts the revenue model. So the heat map stays technical, stays optimistic, and stays silent on the human strand.
This is The Revenue Trap visualized in a single artifact.
The World Models Connection:
Even the AI research community is pivoting toward “World Models” — systems that attempt to model causality, not just correlation. They’re acknowledging that pattern-matching on data exhaust isn’t enough.
But here’s the problem: World Models still start from data, not from agents. They still miss the human strand. And Gartner’s heat map reflects the same blind spot — it assumes the technical selection is the decision, when the technical selection is actually the last decision after readiness has been established.
The Hansen Fit Score Alternative:
Before you look at any menu, you need a diagnosis:
Gartner asks: “Which technique fits your use case?”
HFS asks: “Are you ready for any technique at all?”
The Bottom Line:
This heat map will drive webinar registrations. It will generate engagement. It will be shared in boardrooms as “guidance.”
And it will contribute to the next wave of the 80% failure rate — because it tells organizations what to order without ever asking if they should be at the restaurant.
Enough is enough.
If you want to understand why this approach keeps failing — and what the alternative looks like — here are two papers that go deeper:
Both available for 30-day free download with provided (codes): The Revenue Trap Why Big Firms Can’t Afford the Next Technology Wave, AND Why aren’t LeCun and Bezos asking these same questions?” A Multimodel Assessment of Why World Models Miss the Human Strand
Code | Channel — USE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING CODES TO DOWNLOAD YOUR COPY AT $0.00
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