AI Horizons: How the Organizations Seeing the Most AI Value Are Redesigning Work

Nyrie Bouloutian · Wharton Human-AI Research · 29 Oct 2026

Where this sits in the debate

Will AI actually boost productivity and growth? · its finding: it depends (why studies differ)

Direction of the finding as read from the abstract by an AI model (AI-written).

Key takeaway AI-written

A write-up of Wharton's 2026 survey of about 1,400 employees at large US companies, which finds that only 7% of organisations combine strongly positive AI returns, significant workflow change and internal alignment. Departments that track growth measures report strongly positive returns more often (35%) than those tracking efficiency alone (13%), a correlation the authors say is not causal.

Source excerpt

Enterprise AI adoption is moving beyond experimentation, but the organizations seeing the strongest returns are doing more than adding new tools. They are redesigning workflows, establishing clear ownership, and aligning employees around how AI should be used. The 2026 study surveyed approximately 1,400 employees at large U.S. companies. Only 28% of managers and senior leaders say AI is fully embedded in their core business processes, and just 20% of departments meet the report's definition of successful workflow transformation. Only 7% of organizations meet all three criteria. Only 13% of departments that measure efficiency alone report strongly positive ROI, compared with 35% of departments that track at least one growth-related measure. The researchers also cautioned that productivity gains do not automatically become innovation.

About this publication

Industry report. An industry or consultancy report — produced outside academic peer review.

Published: 2026 (recently)
Citations: Not recorded for this source

AI Horizons: How the Organizations Seeing the Most AI Value Are Redesigning Work

Key takeaway AI-written

Source excerpt

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