![[CAPTION] Company leaders are increasingly positioning AI as a driver of growth. (Image created using GenAI via ChatGPT)](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/0Z5HMRkaoO-JGDjvWg1NceeKBfCA05uDYKWFrOZG9j6LBDjaQMVhCpJlHzHnsXB9AMxXOBA89RKrOtYWRiU6XXfxfxjRdxfXXvxKpA)
Artificial intelligence (AI) will this year become a central pillar of leadership strategy, shaping how organisations plan to grow, compete and reinvent their operating models.
However, the gap between ambition and execution will remain one of the defining challenges of 2026.
This is one of the key findings of Accenture’s latest Pulse of Change report, which shows that global executives’ intent around AI is strong and accelerating.
The study is grounded in a global survey of 8 000 executives and employees, and is designed to measure AI adoption, strategy and workforce impact across industries and regions.
According to the report, across industries, leaders are no longer asking whether AI should be adopted. Instead, they are focused on how AI can be scaled to deliver measurable enterprise value, transform decision-making and unlock new revenue streams.
A total of 86% of surveyed C-suite executives plan to increase their AI investments in 2026, signalling that AI has moved from experimentation to a board-level growth priority, it notes.
Shifting AI priorities
One of the most notable changes highlighted in the report is how executives now view the purpose of AI.
“While early adoption focused heavily on automation and cost reduction, company leaders are increasingly positioning AI as a driver of growth,” it states.
“Nearly eight in 10 surveyed executives believe AI will contribute more to revenue generation than cost savings in the year ahead, reflecting a strategic pivot toward AI-enabled products, services and customer experiences.”
According to the study, daily AI usage among senior leaders has risen sharply, with 38% of surveyed executives now using AI tools every day, compared to 8% at the start of 2024. This signals that AI is no longer delegated solely to technology teams; it is becoming embedded in executive workflows, strategic planning and decision-making processes.
While leadership engagement with AI is deepening, the report suggests that enthusiasm at the top does not automatically translate into impact across the organisation.
Scaling AI remains elusive
Despite growing investment and executive confidence, only 32% of respondents report achieving sustained, enterprise-wide impact from AI. Most companies remain stuck in isolated use cases or pilot programmes that fail to scale meaningfully across business units, the report notes.
“Executives largely believe they have articulated a clear vision for AI-driven change, but employee perceptions tell a different story. Just 18% of workers strongly agree that leadership has communicated a compelling AI vision, and only one in five say they understand how AI will affect their role in the future.
“This disconnect suggests that while executives are planning ambitious AI transformations, those plans are not always translating into clarity or confidence on the ground.”
The result is a growing execution gap: leaders are moving faster in strategy than organisations are moving in practice.
Human-AI collaboration
Despite these challenges, the report reveals a strong foundation for progress. Employees largely recognise the benefits of AI, with 79% stating that AI has positively influenced their ability to learn new skills.
Many also associate AI with increased innovation and problem-solving capacity, indicating that resistance is less about fear of technology and more about lack of involvement in change design.
“However, comfort with advanced AI capabilities remains limited. Only 27% of surveyed employees say they are comfortable delegating tasks to AI agents, and regular AI usage among workers has declined slightly compared to previous months. This points to the need for executives to focus not just on deployment, but on trust, enablement and shared ownership of AI systems.”
For executives planning to scale AI in 2026, the message is clear: value will come from treating AI as a workforce transformation initiative, not just a technology investment, the report asserts.
“In the year ahead, AI success will be defined less by how much organisations spend and more by how effectively executives align people, processes and technology. Those who bridge the gap between executive intent and employee experience will be best positioned to turn AI from a strategic promise into a sustained competitive advantage.”
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