AI trends for business leaders in 2026: adoption is wide, returns are narrow

1. Use is nearly universal. Profit impact is not

McKinsey's survey "The state of AI in 2026," published in August, found that nearly nine in ten respondents report regular use of AI in at least one business function. But only 37% attribute any EBIT impact to AI, about the same as a year earlier.

For leaders, the question has moved from whether to use AI to where it changes results. Companies that report returns tend to redesign a workflow around AI, rather than adding a chat assistant to the existing one.

2. AI agents are scaling in large companies first

Among organizations with more than $1 billion in revenue, the share scaling AI agents in at least one function rose from 27% to 40%, according to McKinsey. Among smaller companies it stayed flat at 22%. Agents, which plan and carry out multi-step tasks using company systems, need clean data, integration work and controls on what they can do, and large companies have more of all three.

3. EU AI Act dates have moved

The EU AI Act entered into force on August 1, 2024. Bans on prohibited practices and AI literacy duties applied from February 2025, and obligations for general-purpose AI models from August 2025. Most of the Act became applicable on August 2, 2026.

The AI Omnibus, which entered into force on July 27, 2026, moved the rules for high-risk AI. They now apply from December 2, 2027 for the high-risk uses listed in Annex III, such as hiring and credit decisions, and from August 2, 2028 for AI in products covered by Annex I. Companies selling into the EU have more time, but not a reason to stop preparing.

4. Entry-level jobs are where the labor effect shows

Stanford Digital Economy Lab researchers Erik Brynjolfsson, Bharat Chandar and Ruyu Chen found that employment of workers aged 22 to 25 in AI-exposed occupations now stands 19% below where it would be had it kept pace with less-exposed peers, in their paper's August 2026 revision. Older workers in the same jobs were not affected the same way. That raises a planning question for every company: how people will gain experience if entry-level tasks are automated.

5. Governance is becoming part of buying

Customers, regulators and boards now ask how AI systems are tested, what data they use and who is accountable. Frameworks such as NIST's AI Risk Management Framework and ISO/IEC 42001 are showing up in vendor questionnaires. See our AI auditing guide.