The AI Business Trends Report 2026

Go Inside 800 Organizations Running AI

A new research report from Coastal and Oxford Economics, based on a survey of 800 U.S. business and technology leaders using AI in their organizations.

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AI Investment and Confidence are High, But Results are Lagging.

Most organizations have learned to deploy AI. The work of running it is where 2026 programs stall.

84%

Of leaders say AI is making them more competitive.

74%

Are increasing AI investment in the year ahead.

46%

Say AI hasn’t met expectations.

What's Inside the Report

Benchmark Your Program

Where 800 organizations stand on AI today, across industries, functions, and operating budgets from $100M to over $20B. Data to see how your AI initiatives compare against peers.

Learn why 73% of organizations are still hitting adoption walls due to a lack of user trust and poor workflow fit.

Spot the Patterns

What separates the organizations getting more from AI from those getting less, and where the operational gaps show up.

 

Organizations with dedicated AI teams are 3.6 times more likely to have autonomous AI in production.

Apply the Findings

Best practices covering what to put in place to run AI as ongoing operational work, not a one-time launch event.

 

Learn how leading organizations are addressing the data challenges that impact 88% of AI programs before launch, after launch, or both.

Get the Frameworks

Frameworks built into the report, ready for your own team conversations and decisions.

 

These tools help bridge the ‘Bandwidth Gap,’ a primary barrier for the 58% of organizations currently struggling to find the internal resources to run AI effectively.

We spent more time on the idea on paper and less on how AI would actually work day to day.

Chief Digital Officer

The work of making AI work in 2026 is operational.

This report digs into the AI business trends that show what that looks like across 800 organizations.

Get the Report
Get the Report

By submitting this form, I understand that Coastal will process my information in accordance with its Privacy Policy, which may include sharing my data with sponsoring partners. I may receive marketing communications with exclusive invitations, relevant tips, insider perks, and more. I understand that I can unsubscribe at any time by following the unsubscribe link at the bottom of any email I receive. To learn more, please visit our privacy policy.