Getting AI Ready: What Corporate Leaders Need To Know In 2026

Executive Summary

AI investment is entering a new phase. As budgets stabilize and scrutiny increases, leaders are under growing pressure to show measurable business value from AI initiatives. Based on a global survey of 352 corporate AI decision-makers, this playbook reveals how organizations are prioritizing AI investments, managing emerging risks and preparing for large-scale adoption in 2026.

 

About the Author

Aleksander Milligan

Aleksander Milligan

Analyst

Aleks is an Analyst at Verdantix, specializing in enterprise AI adoption. He advises technology vendors and corporate buyers on GenAI integration and LLM market trends, the AI...

View Profile

Other related content

Webinar
AI Platforms & Applications
Digital Transformation Leaders
How To Sell Software To AI-First Buyers...

Enterprise software buyers are scaling AI inside the platforms they already own, building firm-specific agents rather than migrating to new tools. That shift redraws the competitiv...

Upcoming / 21 October, 2026

Webinar
Quality Management Software
Manufacturing Operations Management
Industrial Transformation Leaders
Industrial Design Engineering Software
Industrial Analytics & Data Management
Digital Transformation Leaders
Asset Maintenance Software
AI Platforms & Applications
Intelligent Manufacturing In 2027: How ...

Manufacturing is entering a new phase of transformation. Investment in AI, computer vision and connected technologies is accelerating, shaped in part by the renewed push toward dom...

Upcoming / 20 October, 2026

Webinar
Digital Transformation Leaders
AI Platforms & Applications
Winners and Losers in the Agent Orchest...

Agent orchestration is no longer a theoretical concept – enterprise software vendors are making architectural decisions right now that will define their competitive position for ye...

Upcoming / 24 September, 2026

Webinar
Industrial Transformation Leaders
Industrial Analytics & Data Management
Digital Transformation Leaders
AI Platforms & Applications
Asset Maintenance Software
Asset Performance Management Software
Governance Without Guardrails: The Data...

Your organisation is investing in industrial AI. But without clear data ownership, quality standards aligned to operational risk, and governance built to scale, those investments a...

Upcoming / 23 September, 2026

Blog
Digital Transformation Leaders
Too Many Stakeholders Are Spoiling The ...

In August, Verdantix published the 2026 iteration of its AI global corporate survey, drawing on interviews with 306 senior leaders responsible for corporate AI strategies. One ke...

10 September, 2026

Webinar
Industrial Transformation Leaders
Manufacturing Operations Management
Process Safety Management Software
Industrial Design Engineering Software
Industrial Analytics & Data Management
Quality Management Software
Field Services Management
Digital Transformation Leaders
Asset Performance Management Software
Asset Maintenance Software
AI Platforms & Applications
How To Build A Resilient Industrial Tec...

Most industrial firms can point to the platforms they've deployed: a historian, an EAM, a handful of analytics tools added at different times to solve different problems. Far fewer...

01 September, 2026