The productivity gains are real. The investment is committed. Now comes the real challenge: reinvention.

Moving from using AI to running on AI requires reinvention.

The winners won't be the organizations that deploy AI the fastest. Rather, they'll be the ones that combine technology, work redesign and workforce transformation to realize enterprise-wide value.

Methodology

Accenture conducted two complementary global surveys between April and June 2026. The first surveyed 3,000 C-suite leaders from the world’s largest organizations (annual revenues greater than $500 million) across 19 industries and 20 countries. The second surveyed 3,000 employees (non-C-suite) from organizations of the same scale, also across 19 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 Al on talent.