Enterprise AI Enters an ROI Reckoning: More Use, Uneven Value, Reveals Deloitte Survey

NEW YORK, Oct. 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ --

Key takeaways

• AI is delivering on its promise of speed, with 81% of companies surveyed reporting faster decision-making and execution.
• Organizational change is a bottleneck with companies' capacity to redesign work and governance serving as key blockers to value realization.
• AI is starting to act, not just advise. Forty percent of enterprises surveyed now allow AI systems to execute decisions or take actions without human approval, at least to a moderate degree, while nearly 1 in 4 state that accountability is unclear when AI produces a negative outcome, making AI safety and governance a growing priority.
• Return on investment (ROI) is expanding beyond productivity, with reported revenue gains from AI increasing to 28% (up from 20% reported in Deloitte's January report), demonstrating that financial value is solidifying for enterprises.

Why this matters
The Deloitte AI Institute™ today unveiled the latest edition of its "State of AI in the Enterprise" report, revealing how organizations are navigating the shift from AI experimentation to deeper operational integration. "The State of AI in the Enterprise: Built Differently, How AI is Reshaping the Way Enterprises Work, Grow and Create Value" is based on a survey of 3,500 director to C-suite-level leaders across 25 countries and six industries with direct involvement in their companies' AI initiatives. The report explores AI's transformational potential and momentum, with important actions for leaders to consider as they continue their AI journey.

Key quotes
"It's clear AI is already helping companies make decisions and execute work faster. The next challenge is safely turning speed into meaningful change. Leaders should look beyond individual use cases and ask whether the underlying work still makes sense. That is how organizations can move from applying AI to existing processes to using it to holistically improve how the business operates, with the right safeguards and accountability."

— Jim Rowan, US head of AI, Deloitte

"Many enterprises are getting better at watching their total AI bill, but far fewer understand the unit cost underneath it—where costs are being generated and whether they are producing commensurate value. That gap is where ROI can get lost. Leaders who close that gap, who can tie what a workflow costs to the value it creates and connect this economic discipline with organizational redesign, may be the ones who can better reap that competitive advantage and scale AI sustainably."

— Costi Perricos, Deloitte Global GenAI Business leader

The new AI bottleneck: Work is faster, not different
AI has become a powerful accelerator, with 81% of companies reporting improved speed in decision-making and execution. Yet only 25% say they are using AI to deeply transform the business by creating new products or services, reinventing core processes, or fundamentally changing their business models.

For most surveyed organizations, AI is speeding up existing workflows without changing the work itself. The true test is whether companies can use that momentum to change how they operate, make decisions, and create value.

Companies can see the AI bill — but often not what drives it
Greater leadership visibility into total AI spending may not often reveal the costs behind it. While 71% track total AI inference and API spend, only 51% track token volume and 44% track per-unit inference cost.

This visibility gap makes it harder to assess whether the value created by AI justifies its expense. As AI investment increases and workloads become more complex, leaders will need visibility into workflow-level costs and the usage that drives them to help efficiently manage spending and evaluate ROI.

The ROI paradox: Returns are arriving on different timelines
AI's benefits are emerging at different speeds, with financial returns taking longer to materialize. But the gap is narrowing, with 28% of companies now reporting revenue gains from AI, up from 20% in January. Those companies are also seeing broader benefits beyond productivity and cost savings, suggesting payoff comes not just from moving faster, but working smarter.

Workforce redesign is a work in progress
Sixty percent of companies have redesigned jobs around AI capabilities to at least a moderate degree. However, only 15% report a significant shift in decision-making authority as a result of AI.

Employees may have access to better information and make faster decisions, but they aren't empowered to act differently. Effective work redesign requires changes to roles, responsibilities, approval processes, decision rights and the division of work between people and AI.

From advising to acting, governance and safety must keep pace
As AI takes on a growing role in key operational processes, safety is paramount. Forty percent of companies now allow AI to execute decisions without human approval, at least to a moderate degree. Despite this growing autonomy, 23% say accountability remains unclear when an AI system produces a negative outcome. Done right, safety accelerates innovation and adoption.

Governance and safety controls should match the level of autonomy and potential consequence involved: systems that execute actions can require more oversight than systems that only provide recommendations.

About "The State of AI in the Enterprise"
"The State of AI in the Enterprise" has been running for nine years. This research builds on Deloitte's previous "State of Generative AI in the Enterprise" quarterly reports, intended to track the fast-moving adoption of GenAI in the enterprise. This edition of the survey, conducted between May and June 2026, connected with 3,500 business and IT leaders across 25 countries and six industries: consumer; energy, resources and industrials; financial services; life sciences and health care; technology, media and telecom; and government and public services. 

About Deloitte
Deloitte provides industry-leading audit, consulting, tax and advisory services to many of the world's most admired brands, including nearly 90% of the Fortune 500® and more than 9,000 US-based private companies. At Deloitte, we strive to live our purpose of making an impact that matters for our people, clients, and communities. We bring together distinct talents, technologies, disciplines, and an ecosystem of alliances to help tackle today's most complex business challenges and drive long-term progress. Deloitte is proud to be part of the largest global professional services network serving our clients in the markets that are most important to them. Bringing more than 180 years of service, our network of member firms spans more than 150 countries and territories. Learn how Deloitte's nearly 500,000 people worldwide connect for impact at www.deloitte.com.

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SOURCE Deloitte LLP