Only a few companies are realising extraordinary value from AI—surging top-line growth and valuation premiums. Many others see measurable ROI, but most companies report modest gains in efficiency, capacity, and productivity—but these don’t add up to transformation.
However, the picture is shifting. Success is becoming visible. Companies are showing how AI can build leading-edge operating and business models, with impact across strategy, operations, workforce, trust, technology stacks, and sustainability. Evidence now allows benchmarks, performance measurement, and levers to accelerate value creation in business and functions like finance and tax.
So why is success concentrated in so few? Organisations often spread efforts thin with small bets, and early wins mask deeper challenges. Real results require precision—choosing a few areas where AI can deliver wholesale transformation, then executing with disciplined leadership. Once priority areas succeed, the rest of the company can follow .
PwC’s own AI transformation, combined with nearly a decade of executive surveys and annual AI predictions, has built a clear view of what drives success—and what holds it back. Our forecasts are grounded in real experience and focused on practical impact—so you can take confident steps to turn AI ambition into transformative business value in 2026 and beyond.
Our advice to IT leaders and executives: a new operating model is essential. Modern IT uses AI agents to boost capacity and performance. And it transforms itself—upgrading tech, adding new roles (like agent engineer and escalation specialist), taking on responsibility for an AI orchestration layer, and redeploying its new capacity to better enable the business.
Our predictions
1. The disciplined march to value begins
In 2026, we expect more companies to follow the lead of AI front-runners, adopting an enterprise-wide strategy centred on a top-down programme. Senior leadership must pick the spots for focused AI investments, looking for a few key workflows or business processes where payoffs from AI can be big.
2. Proof points and real-world benchmarks set the pace for agentic AI
In 2026, agents will be embedded into redesigned workflows. There will be clear articulation of human roles for initiative, review, and oversight, supported by training and incentives. Agents’ ability to document decisions enables continuous monitoring, error correction, adoption tracking, and trust building.
3. Rise of the AI generalist: A new workforce emerges
The workforce may evolve into new shapes: an hourglass in knowledge work, with strong junior and senior tiers but fewer midlevel roles; or a diamond in frontline work, where agents replace entry-level tasks and more midlevel talent is needed to orchestrate them.
4. Responsible AI moves from talk to traction
In 2026, we expect that adoption pressures will force companies to roll out rigorous, repeatable RAI practices. The good news: new governance tools—automated red teaming, deepfake detection, AI enabled monitoring—make continuous oversight possible.
5. From vibe to value: Orchestration that accelerates impact
AI agents make “vibe” work possible. Vibe work involves the situation where anyone can invent or test ideas without deep technical expertise. But you usually need tech teams to “industrialise” this innovation, putting ideas into production at scale with continuous monitoring. Now, this scaling requires orchestration. An orchestration layer acts as a command centre, catching mistakes, monitoring performance, and aligning end-user innovation with enterprise priorities and strategy.
6. The demand for business returns drives AI for sustainability
AI’s impact on sustainability in 2026 depends on how it is used. While efficiency gains make AI cheaper, consequent rapid growth could strain emissions, water supplies, and energy prices. Companies can mitigate these impacts by approving AI usage only when it delivers significant value and adopting practices such as carbon scheduling. AI productivity gains may help offset its associated environmental costs through more efficient operations.
Download our publication for details on our predictions as well as the top three things business leaders must do now.
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