NEW YORK – October 29, 2026 -- Forty percent of enterprises now allow AI systems to execute decisions without human approval, at least to a moderate degree, while 23% say accountability is unclear when AI produces a negative outcome, according to the Deloitte AI Institute's latest "State of AI in the Enterprise" report.
The survey covered 3,500 director to C-suite leaders across 25 countries and six industries, all directly involved in their companies' AI initiatives. It was conducted between May and June 2026.
Speed gains are widespread, but only 25% are transforming their business
Some 81% of companies report faster decision-making and execution from AI. Only 25% say they use AI to deeply transform the business by creating new products or services, reinventing core processes, or changing business models. For most respondents, AI accelerates existing workflows without changing the work itself.
Revenue gains from AI rise to 28% from 20% in January
The share of companies reporting revenue gains from AI increased to 28%, up from 20% in Deloitte's January report. Financial returns still arrive more slowly than productivity benefits. Companies reporting revenue gains also see broader benefits beyond productivity and cost savings.
Only 44% of companies track per-unit inference cost
While 71% track total AI inference and API spend, only 51% track token volume and 44% track per-unit inference cost. That gap makes it harder to test whether AI value justifies its expense as workloads grow more complex.
Costi Perricos, Deloitte Global GenAI Business leader, said far fewer enterprises understand "the unit cost underneath" the total bill. He argued that leaders who tie workflow costs to the value created, and pair that discipline with organizational redesign, are better placed to scale AI sustainably.
Sixty percent have redesigned jobs, yet just 15% report shifts in decision authority
Sixty percent of companies have redesigned jobs around AI capabilities to at least a moderate degree. Only 15% report a significant shift in decision-making authority as a result. Employees gain better information and make faster decisions, but are not empowered to act differently. Deloitte says effective redesign requires changes to roles, responsibilities, approval processes, decision rights and the division of work between people and AI.
Governance must scale with AI autonomy
Deloitte recommends that safety and governance controls match the level of autonomy and potential consequence. Systems that execute actions can require more oversight than systems that only provide recommendations.
Jim Rowan, US head of AI at Deloitte, said leaders should look beyond individual use cases and ask whether the underlying work still makes sense, with safeguards and accountability in place.
The report builds on Deloitte's earlier quarterly "State of Generative AI in the Enterprise" reports. The wider survey series has run for nine years. Respondents came from consumer; energy, resources and industrials; financial services; life sciences and health care; technology, media and telecom; and government and public services.