After two years of rapid AI acceleration, global executives enter 2026 with unmistakable confidence. But beneath the optimism, the data reveals a more complex reality: a widening series of gaps standing in the way of scale and value.
Gaps in employee sentiment, adoption patterns, and the infrastructure cracks, quietly determine if AI will deliver returns. The story of 2026 is not about whether organizations are adopting AI—they are. It’s about whether they can turn early impact into lasting value. Our data shows which gaps must be closed to get there:
The Clarity of Vision Gap: Alignment Matters
Executives overwhelmingly believe they’re steering their organizations with clarity. Yet among employees, only 18% strongly agree that their organization's leadership has clearly communicated a vision for how the company will navigate change in 2026, and just 20% feel strongly that they understand how AI agents and Agentic AI will impact the workforce, including changes to roles and required skills. 81% of employees believe leaders understand the day-to-day reality of AI at work, but only 20% feel like active co-creators in how AI changes their jobs. There is empathy without agency.
The Data Foundations and Sustained Adoption Gap: Quality Matters
Organizations are pouring resources into AI, with 78% now viewing AI as more beneficial to revenue growth than cost reduction. At the same time, 35% of leaders say that having the right data strategy and core digital capabilities in place would be most beneficial in accelerating their organization’s ability to implement and scale AI. For employees, the underlying capabilities of AI at work remain fragile as 54% cite low-quality or misleading AI outputs leading to wasted time and productivity. Value follows quality. Trust in outputs and data accuracy remain key to sustained growth.
The Integrated Process and Role Redesign Gap: Sequence Matters
Leaders are moving aggressively on AI deployment. 21% of companies are redesigning processes, but fewer than 10% are redesigning roles. Among employees, only 40% say their training has prepared them for role changes. Even fewer employees (20%) feel like active co-creators in how AI changes their work. Regular AI agent usage among employees dropped 10 points since the summer and 39% are trying AI tools first before asking a colleague, a decrease of 15 points in the same timeframe—suggesting adoption will stall further until roles, incentives and training catch up.
How will your organization adapt its workforce or operating model to support AI adoption in 2026?
Prioritized digital, and AI, investments are increasing leaders’ bullishness for business growth. But are organizations ready for AI?
Prioritized digital, and AI, investments are increasing leaders’ bullishness for business growth. But are organizations ready for AI?
82%
of C-suite leaders expect a higher level of change in 2026 vs a year ago – a 24 percentage point gap with employees.
55%
of C-suite leaders feel prepared for technological disruption in 2026, up from 49% from summer 2025.
71%
of leaders rank investment in digital tools as their top strategy for managing change, up sharply from 53% summer 2025.
Compared to the change experienced throughout your organization in 2025, what are your expectations for the level of change in 2026?
AI remains the centerpiece of 2026 investment strategies, with nearly nine in ten organizations planning to increase spending, driven largely by continued advances in AI capabilities.
AI remains the centerpiece of 2026 investment strategies, with nearly nine in ten organizations planning to increase spending, driven largely by continued advances in AI capabilities.
86%
of the C-suite leaders plan to increase AI investment in 2026.
78%
now see AI as more beneficial to revenue growth than cost reduction, up from 65% in June 2024.
38%
of the C-suite leaders use AI tools daily in their work, up from 8% in March 2024.
Which of the following strategic priorities have grown in importance for your organization due to the level of change experienced throughout your organization?
Leaders’ optimism for 2026 is not swayed by concerns around an “AI bubble.”
Leaders’ optimism for 2026 is not swayed by concerns around an “AI bubble.”
46%
of leaders say they would continue to increase AI investments even in the event of a market correction.
12%
of leaders cite ROI as the primary driver of AI investment, underscoring the need for clearer direction on how to generate value.
If an AI bubble were to burst, how would it impact your organization’s investment strategy?
The positivity reverberating across the C-suite does not align with what their workforce is experiencing, even though talent is the primary accelerator of AI scale.
The positivity reverberating across the C-suite does not align with what their workforce is experiencing, even though talent is the primary accelerator of AI scale.
23%
C-suite leaders say improved access to skilled talent and training would accelerate their ability to implement and scale AI.
38%
of workers believe their organizations can respond effectively to technological disruption, and just 30% feel confident about how their company will handle talent disruption.
48%
of workers feel secure in their jobs – down eleven percentage points from 59% from Summer 2025.
59%
also believe that young professionals are having a harder time finding jobs due to automation and AI.
To what extent do you believe your organization is prepared to respond to the following areas of disruption in 2026?
AI is widely seen as a driver of revenue growth, but only 32% of leaders report having achieved sustained, enterprise-wide AI impact.
AI is widely seen as a driver of revenue growth, but only 32% of leaders report having achieved sustained, enterprise-wide AI impact.
32%
of employees say they regularly work with AI agents, and just 27% strongly agree that they are comfortable delegating tasks to them.
39%
of employees are trying AI tools first before going to a colleague – down 15 percentage points versus Summer 2025.
81%
of employees believe their organization’s leadership understands the day-to-day realities of how AI impacts workers, many still feel left out of the conversation.
20%
of employees feel like active co-creators in how AI changes their work.
17%
say they enjoy using AI and seek new ways to apply it, down from 21%.
13%
say they frequently encounter misleading and low-quality outputs from their AI use.
Growing hesitation about quality AI outputs and strength of organizational data foundation signal a serious risk to sustained adoption at the point of work.
How would you describe your experience with AI agents?
The human AND AI factor will define success in 2026
The biggest barrier to AI value is no longer technology; it is alignment with employees, who are eager to learn.
43%
say clear training would give them more confidence with using AI tools.
79%
also say they’ve experienced a positive change in their ability to learn and build new skills, to innovate (72%) and to be more engaged at work (68%).
40%
say their training has prepared them for role changes.
Skilling alone is failing to build readiness or cement trust, putting long-term AI value at risk. Employees need a clearly communicated vision.
As the discussion on how to translate the early impact of productivity and new ways of working into long term value expands from the boardroom to the workforce, it is increasingly clear that the biggest barrier to realizing AI’s potential is bringing people along the journey. 2026 will favor those that align the confidence in their technological investments with commitment to workforce needs.
Methodology
Accenture conducted two complementary global surveys between November and December 2025. The first surveyed 3,650 C-suite executives from the world’s largest organizations (annual revenues greater than $500 million) across 20 industries and 20 countries. The second surveyed 3,350 workers (non-C-suite) from organizations of the same scale, also across 20 industries and 20 countries. Together, the surveys capture perspectives on the current business environment, including the drivers of disruption, preparedness to respond to change, and the impact of emerging technologies such as AI and generative AI on talent. The surveys carry a margin of error of +/- 1.6% for C-suite and +/- 2.1% for Employees.
C-suite Roles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- Chief Strategy Officer
- Chief Innovation Officer
- Chief Technology Officer
- Chief Information Officer
- Chief Operating Officer
- Chief Supply Chain & Operations Officer
- Chief Production Officer
- R&D Lead
- Chief Marketing Officer
- Chief Sales Officer
- Chief Customer Officer
- Chief Financial Officer
- Chief HR Officer
- Chief Data Officer
- Chief Analytics Officer
- Chief Experience Officer
US Federal Government / Public Services only:
- Chief Compliance Officer
- Chief Digital Officer
- Chief Procurement Officer
- Director General/Minister/Executive Director
- Deputy Minister/Deputy Director
- Secretary/Assistant Secretary
- Division Chief
- Chief Marketing Officer/Director of Communications
- Chief Security Officer
- Australia
- Brazil
- Canada
- China
- France
- Germany
- India
- Ireland
- Italy
- Japan
- Netherlands
- Singapore
- Saudi Arabia
- South Africa
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- United Arab Emirates
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Aerospace and Defense
- Airline, Travel, Transport
- Automotive
- Banking (Retail)
- Capital Markets (including Investment Banking)
- Chemicals
- Communications, Media, and Entertainment
- Consumer Goods
- Energy
- Health
- High Technology
- Industrial Goods and Equipment
- Insurance
- Life Sciences
- Natural Resources
- Public Service
- Retail
- Software and Platforms
- US Federal Government
- Utilities