ResearchAI Strategy

The State of AI Execution in 2026

Why most businesses are stuck between AI ambition and AI outcomes — and what the top performers do differently.

March 202610 min read

Key Findings

78% of businesses have an AI strategy. Only 23% have AI systems running in production. The gap isn't technology — it's execution infrastructure.

78%

Have AI strategy

23%

AI in production

3.2x

ROI gap

67%

Cite execution as blocker

The execution gap

Our research across 200+ mid-market and enterprise businesses reveals a consistent pattern: the barrier to AI value isn't technology capability, budget, or talent. It's the inability to connect AI tools to the workflows that drive business outcomes.

What top performers do differently

1. Systems thinking over tool adoption

Top-performing organisations approach implementation as a systems design challenge, not a technology procurement exercise. They start with workflows, not features.

2. Connected infrastructure

High performers run AI on connected infrastructure — where every system feeds data back into the next. This creates compounding performance.

3. Structured deployment frameworks

Rather than ad hoc pilots, top performers follow structured frameworks like ABIS (Assess → Blueprint → Implement → Scale) that move from diagnosis to deployment in defined phases.

The businesses getting the most from AI aren't the ones with the best models. They're the ones with the best execution systems.

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