AI is here, and its impact is undeniable. With its increasingly human-like capabilities and intelligence, AI has the potential to unlock limitless opportunities for innovation and growth, largely through autonomy. Realizing the promise of AI agents—to operate independently, make decisions, and take actions without constant human oversight—depends on one critical factor: trust.

Our research finds that most (77%) of the executives we surveyed agree the true benefits of AI require a solid foundation of trust across the enterprise, while even more (81%) agree that trust strategy must evolve alongside any technology strategy. While much has been written about trust, two types are especially relevant in this conversation: cognitive (or rational) trust and emotional trust. But how do these types of trust influence our relationship with AI and comfort with autonomy? Consider teaching a teenager to drive.

For many parents, it’s a rite of passage that evokes both excitement and anxiety. At the beginning, parents rely heavily on emotional trust—the inherent bond of love and belief that their child will try their best to be safe and responsible. Yet, this trust is not enough to let them sit calmly in the passenger seat. It must be complemented by cognitive trust, which develops over time as the child demonstrates competence by learning the rules of the road, making sound decisions, and handling unexpected challenges.

Similarly, this interplay between emotional and cognitive trust reflects how humans evaluate complex systems, including AI. Emotional trust in AI arises when users perceive it as aligned with their interests, ethical in its purpose, having empathy, and reliable in its intentions. Cognitive trust is earned when AI systems prove their competence, consistency, and transparency through explainability and measurable outcomes. Together, these forms of trust are the foundation upon which AI’s autonomy—and its transformative potential—can be realized.

A cognitive digital brain at the center of trust and autonomy

Building a cognitive digital brain—which includes information, memory, context, and reasoning—is central to AI’s next stage, enabling trust and autonomy by empowering individuals, businesses, industries, and governments. It starts with foundational models that bring broad general knowledge and a built-in ability to learn. By teaching AI systems about specific parts of the business and allowing users to shape its preferences, likes, and needs, it can become deeply personalized and intelligent.

Enterprises that unify scattered AI efforts into a digital brain can integrate workflows, institutional knowledge, value chains, social interactions, and more. As the system grows smarter and more people use it, it also reinforces trust and autonomy.

Autonomy and the trust revolution

To help business leaders prepare for the transformative journey ahead, the Accenture Technology Vision 2025 report explores the business reinvention—and trust revolution—that will happen as generative and autonomous AI ripple across dimensions of technology development, customer experience, the physical world, and the workforce with four key trends:

1, The Binary Big Bang – Gen AI-based coding assistants elevate the role of software developers to systems engineers, which accelerates the digitization of business. The choices organizations make now in developing their own cognitive systems and embedding AI into their enterprise’s unique DNA will shape their potential for years to come. Application architectures must be reimagined, shifting toward an intention-based framework and agentic systems. We see a rise in custom systems across enterprises because of this democratization of coding and the creation of digital brains. As these systems become more capable, adaptive and personal, they will inspire greater trust through enhanced competence. More and more, agentic and multi-agent systems will manage entire processes and functions. For example, AI agents are optimizing inventory management for Walmart, streamlining booking processes for Marriott, and enhancing Nestlé’s supply chain operations—demonstrating how AI systems can deliver measurable results with expertise, competence, and consistency.

2, Your Face, in the Future — More autonomous AI will radically transform customer engagement, creating highly relevant and personalized experiences. Businesses can create deeper emotional connections and loyalty by defining their AI personality, an emotional embodiment of the brand that resonates with customers through empathy, understanding, and authenticity. This can help build enduring, trust-based relationships between AI systems and the people they serve. For example, a global skincare brand is building a hyper-personalization engine that acts like a personal chief beauty scientist. It learns from customers, combining traditional AI with skin scan technology to deliver highly personalized experiences with a high degree of emotional trust.

3, When LLMs Get Their Bodies — We are entering a new era for robotics with the ability to understand a nearly infinite number of scenarios in physical world and take safe, accurate actions autonomously. Robots and humans will form a symbiotic relationship, where technology becomes a trusted partner in amplifying human potential. This requires emotional trust, as humans need to feel confident that these systems understand their intentions, align with their goals, and operate safely, ethically, and collaboratively. For example, in partnership with Nvidia, Accenture is helping KION Group create the warehouse of the future, where AI-driven robots work seamlessly with people to fulfill orders faster, safer and at a lower cost.

4, The New Learning Loop — Creating a virtuous cycle between people and AI helps us to truly learn, grow, and reimagine new ways to achieve unprecedented levels of performance. Cognitive trust develops as people rely on AI’s proven ability to deliver consistent, accurate, and transparent results. Transparency is essential, providing users with clear insights into AI’s decision-making processes and ensuring accountability. For example, Accenture is transforming its marketing function with autonomous agents that help create and execute smarter campaigns faster. By pairing marketers with AI agents that demonstrate reliability and transparency, the collaboration enhances trust while unlocking new levels of creativity and efficiency.

This new age of autonomous AI presents an extraordinary opportunity for businesses and individuals alike. By building systems grounded in cognitive and emotional trust, organizations can redefine customer engagement, foster co-creation, and empower both people and AI to thrive together. With trust as the foundation, the possibilities of AI become truly limitless.

This commentary is from Accenture, a sponsor of Fortune Brainstorm AI. Karthik Narain is group chief executive, technology, and chief technology officer of Accenture. Lan Guan is chief AI officer.

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