Survey2026-08-25

McKinsey's annual global AI survey found that more organizations are scaling AI across the enterprise and that large companies with over $1 billion in revenue are pulling ahead on autonomous AI agents, while the share reporting a measurable profit contribution from AI stayed flat year over year. Roughly a third said they skipped buying a software product because they could build it in-house with AI coding tools. Expected job reductions rose again, though last year's expectations proved more than double what actually happened.

What changed

A year earlier, 38% reported enterprise-wide scaling and 27% of large firms were scaling agents; the EBIT and high-performer shares were the same.

What it unlocks

Benchmarking one's own AI scaling, spending and headcount expectations against a large cross-industry sample.

  • 44% scaling AI enterprise-wide, up from 38%
  • 37% report some EBIT impact from AI
  • 32% skipped a software purchase
  • 20% limited by AI operating costs

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