The AI honeymoon is over. A new study from the Wharton School and GBK Collective shows 72% of enterprise leaders now formally measure its return on investment, and a staggering three-quarters of them are already reporting positive returns.
From hype to hard numbers: Nearly 90% of leaders plan to boost AI spending in the next year, driven by a new focus on performance. "Leaders are no longer content to run pilots. They want proof," says Wharton professor Sonny Tambe, a co-author of the research. The report calls this pivot "accountable acceleration" and forecasts 2026 as an inflection point where the game turns from simple adoption to delivering results at scale.
The readiness question: The fast integration of AI is creating new anxieties that go beyond job replacement. While nearly 90% of leaders believe AI augments employee work, more than 40% now fear their teams' skills are at risk of declining as the technology automates more tasks. "The challenge isn’t replacement, it’s readiness," states Wharton professor Stefano Puntoni.
With adoption now mainstream, the race is no longer about just using AI, but about building a culture and skillset to gain a durable competitive advantage. As Jeremy Korst of GBK Collective puts it, the next phase "is not about adoption; it is about advantage."
Also on our radar: The push for AI-driven efficiency is getting specific, with a separate report showing a majority of CFOs are now using or exploring AI in their accounts payable departments.
