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Publicis Sapient's Global Enterprise AI Report Finds Most Enterprises Use AI, but Only 10% Say It's Core to Their Operations

Decision-makers say AI is already embedded in daily work, but most organizations have not adapted to capture its full value. 

June 17, 2026

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briana-lion
Briana Lion PR Manager

PARIS, FRANCE, June 17, 2026

Publicis Sapient, a global enterprise AI platform and services company, announced its 2026 Global Enterprise AI Report today at VivaTech in Paris. Based on a global survey of 1,550 AI decision-makers, the report reveals a growing gap between AI adoption and enterprise readiness. 

The research found that AI is now embedded in everyday work inside large enterprises, but most organizations have not transformed the systems, workflows and operating models needed to realize its full value.

Key findings include:

  • 73 percent say AI is used regularly or across most business processes, but only 10 percent say AI is core to how their business operates.
  • 47 percent believe AI is already capable of meeting today’s business needs
  • 42 percent say AI is capable, but their organizations are not set up to capture its value
  • 22 percent identify the way their organization operates as the primary barrier to AI success
  • Only 38 percent say AI is fundamentally changing how their business operates today

"The enterprise was not designed for the speed, scale and autonomy that AI makes possible," said Nigel Vaz, CEO of Publicis Sapient. "Many organizations have successfully deployed AI, but deployment alone does not create advantage. The winners will be the companies that redesign how work gets done, modernize their operations and embed AI into the fabric of the business."

AI is already inside the enterprise. Transformation has not kept pace.

The findings suggest that AI adoption is no longer the primary challenge facing large enterprises. AI is already deeply embedded in how work gets done. The larger challenge is organizational: adapting systems, workflows and operating models quickly enough to capture the value AI can already create.

  • Nearly half of respondents (47 percent) say AI is already fully capable of meeting today's business needs, yet, while capable, 42 percent say their organizations are not built to capture that value

As AI spreads across functions, many gains remain confined to individual teams and workflows rather than driving enterprise-wide change.

  • Only 38 percent of respondents say AI is fundamentally changing how their business operates
  • More than one in five respondents (22 percent) identify the way their organizations run as the primary barrier to AI success, reinforcing the growing importance of organizational readiness alongside technology adoption

Regional gaps reveal an uneven path to AI transformation

The pace of AI transformation varies sharply by region:  

U.S. — Fastest adopters, biggest organizational wake-up call

Advanced adopters like the U.S. increasingly see organizational design, not AI itself, as the bottleneck.

  • 41 percent say AI is fundamentally changing the business
  • 34 percent say the way their organization runs is the primary constraint to AI success

U.K. — The transformation leader

The U.K. leads surveyed markets in reported business transformation from AI.

  • 51 percent say AI is fundamentally changing how the business operates
  • 60 percent say AI is highly or fully embedded into workflows

France — Adoption without transformation

AI adoption exists, but data constraints are holding transformation back.

  • 24 percent say AI is fundamentally changing how the business operates
  • 51 percent cite internal data as the primary constraint to AI success

Germany — Embedded but fragmented

German organizations are among the most likely to work alongside AI, but enterprise integration remains limited.

  • 35 percent say AI shows up as a “colleague” used by teams to support and deliver work
  • 10 percent say AI is fully integrated across the enterprise

Australia — Steady but uneven

Australian organizations are embedding AI into workflows while transformation progresses steadily.

  • 53 percent say AI is highly or fully embedded into workflows
  • 38 percent say AI is fundamentally changing how the business operates

UAE — Eager but uncoordinated

AI adoption and coordination are advancing rapidly, but enterprise integration remains low.

  • 60 percent say AI is connected across teams and workflows to deliver work in a coordinated way
  • 5 percent say AI is fully integrated across individuals, functions and teams across the enterprise

Across markets, expectations for AI progress continue to outpace organizational readiness. In the U.S., 71 percent of respondents expect significant progress in scaling AI over the next 12 to 24 months, yet only 20 percent say their organizations are fully equipped today to meet those expectations. Similar gaps exist across every market surveyed, suggesting many organizations are moving faster in ambition than in execution.

The findings suggest enterprise AI success will increasingly depend on organizations’ ability to modernize legacy systems, connect workflows across functions and redesign operating models around AI. As enterprises move beyond experimentation, operational adaptation–not technology adoption alone–may determine which organizations realize lasting value from AI.

Publicis Sapient’s full 2026 Global Enterprise AI Report is available at https://go.publicissapient.com/enterprise-ai-readiness-gap.

About Publicis Sapient’s 2026 Global Enterprise AI Report

Publicis Sapient surveyed 1,550 AI decision-makers across the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Australia and the UAE between April 29 and May 14, 2026.  Respondents work at organizations with at least 500 employees and $100 million in annual revenue and hold responsibility for evaluating, influencing or selecting enterprise AI technologies and platforms. Fieldwork was conducted by Protégé on behalf of Publicis Sapient.

About Publicis Sapient

Publicis Sapient is a technology company that provides enterprise AI platforms and services. With over 30 years of digital business transformation experience, we enable enterprise clients to transform how they operate and serve their customers, unlocking new value and enabling them to thrive in an AI-driven world. Our platforms Sapient Slingshot, Sapient Bodhi and Sapient Sustain use AI built off this deep enterprise context to help organizations modernize their legacy tech systems, build agentic solutions, and automate their IT operations. The combination of our AI platforms and the expertise of our people enables us to deliver faster and more effective outcomes through solutions that are specific to the unique needs of our clients’ businesses, their industries and their customers. Publicis Sapient is the technology hub of Publicis Groupe, uniting 20,000 people worldwide across 28 countries. For more information, visit publicissapient.com.

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