How AI and the Economy Are Shaping Risk, Security, and Business Strategy in 2025 and Beyond

Highlights: 

• Strategic AI Adoption & Security: AI is transforming the workforce from routine monitoring to analytical roles, with security teams using it at scale. Successful adoption requires an "AI by design" approach, integrating governance and explainability from the start, and elevating CISOs to strategic business architects.
• Navigating Economic Uncertainty: "Data blindness," rising import costs, and softening growth make economic uncertainty the key feature of 2025. Businesses must leverage AI responsibly as a critical tool for risk reduction and more effective planning amid policy unpredictability.

Artificial intelligence and economic uncertainty are converging in ways that are reshaping how leaders think about risk, workforce readiness, cybersecurity, and competitive strategy. 

Our December Market Pulse webinar featured economist Dr. Amy Crews Cutts, President and Chief Economist at AC Cutts & Associates, Equifax Chief Information Security Officer Jeremy Koppen, Equifax Senior Advisor David Sojka, and Equifax Advisory Leader Emmaline Aliff. During the conversation, several common themes emerged: accelerating change, policy unpredictability, and the widening gap between hype and real-world impact.

Here are the top 10 insights to know as we end 2025: 

1. Data blindness is creating a challenging economic planning environment.

Due to federal data delays and the  government shutdown, crucial indicators like Personal Consumer Expenditures (PCE), Consumer Price Index (CPI), and GDP became unreliable or unavailable. Forecasters are “flying blind,” making business planning more difficult and increasing uncertainty across industries.

2. Economic downturn risk is rising as growth softens.

GDP forecasts show weak growth ahead, around 1.7% in Q4 of this year and 1.8% in Q4 of next year, with Dr. Cutts expecting even weaker outcomes. Layoffs are rising, and both consumers and businesses are showing early signs of caution.

3. Import cost and policy volatility are damaging confidence.

Increases in import costs have added two to four percent to prices, hitting consumers and industries, like automotive, especially hard. Even if emergency trade policy actions are reversed, average import cost levels would remain historically high, with an approximate average fall back of 9.3%,  sustaining uncertainty for supply chains and pricing.

4. Consumer sentiment is near historic lows.

Despite strong spending from high-income households, most consumers feel financially strained. Discretionary purchases — especially big-ticket items — are likely to decline as uncertainty rises.

5. AI is transforming work — but not in the way headlines suggest.

Both Cutts and Koppen stress that AI doesn’t simply eliminate jobs. Instead, it reshapes them. Productivity gains are real, but many layoffs being attributed to AI are actually driven by other strategic or cost decisions. The real change: Jobs are shifting from routine monitoring to analytical, decision-driven roles.

6. Security teams are already using AI at scale.

Koppen explains that AI is becoming an essential tool for cybersecurity teams as it:

• Analyzes massive datasets in real time

• Flags anomalies far faster than humans

• Reduces “alert fatigue” by filtering noise

• Frees analysts to focus on genuine threats

This is not hype; it’s measurable operational transformation.

7. Explainability and safety must be built in from the start.

The speakers emphasized a crucial point: AI controls cannot be bolted on later. Security, privacy, explainability, and governance must be integrated at the design stage — like “AI by design,” paralleling the established principle of “security by design.” Without this foundation, AI innovation becomes limited, risky, or unsustainable.

8. CISOs are becoming strategic AI architects.

The traditional security role is evolving. CISOs must now:

• Coordinate across engineering, data science, and policy teams

• Ensure identity, data hygiene, and foundational controls are strong

• Stay ahead of adversaries who are using AI to write exploits and craft sophisticated fraud scenarios

• Guide the business on AI adoption, risk posture, and best practices

Security leadership is now inseparable from AI strategy.

9. Third-party AI partnerships don’t need a reinvented risk model — just a reinforced one.

Organizations can onboard AI vendors faster by:

• Using their existing third-party risk frameworks (SOC 2, ISO, identity controls)

• Applying stronger data-access and data-governance reviews

• Streamlining expectations so vendors know requirements up front

The biggest shift is not new processes. It’s ensuring tighter data controls in ecosystems that blend internal and external AI tools.

The Path Forward: Pilot Aggressively, But Stay Vigilant

Koppen leaves leaders with a balanced recommendation:

• Pilot new AI tools continuously; the landscape changes “every week.”

• Educate yourself on risks: data exposure, model misuse, and evolving attacker tactics.

AI maturity will reward organizations that pair experimentation with responsible governance.

Final Thought

Across both economic forecasting and cybersecurity strategy, one message stands out: Uncertainty is the defining feature of 2025 — but AI, used responsibly, is one of the most powerful tools we have to reduce that uncertainty.

Keep Your Business Goals Within Sight

Need your business to run more efficiently? Reach out at riskadvisors@equifax.com.  

Find our monthly Small Business Insights, National Consumer Credit Trends reports, the Market Pulse podcast, and more at our Market Pulse hub. 

Source:

1. Equifax, December 2025 Market Pulse Webinar