University of Kwazulu-Natal

Ai Adoption In 2026 How Leaders Must Redesign Their Org Now Barry O

Bonisiwe Shabane
-
ai adoption in 2026 how leaders must redesign their org now barry o

AI is about to create the biggest competitive divide since the internet. Not because the technology becomes magical in 2026 — it will get better, yes — but because the leaders who redesign how their organizations think, learn, and work will separate themselves from everyone else. The data is unambiguous: 95% of organizations are seeing zero ROI from their GenAI investments. Not because AI doesn’t work, but because their operating model doesn’t. It touches every workflow, every behavior, every decision pattern, and ultimately, how value gets created. AI is about to create the biggest competitive divide since the internet.

Not because the technology becomes magical in 2026 — it will get better, yes — but because the leaders who redesign how their organizations think, learn, and work will separate themselves from everyone else. The data is unambiguous: 95% of organizations are seeing zero ROI from their GenAI investments. Not because AI doesn’t work, but because their operating model doesn’t. It touches every workflow, every behavior, every decision pattern, and ultimately, how value gets created. 4 minutes ago • by Mark J. Greeven, José Parra Moyano, Michael R.

Wade, Amit M. Joshi, Jialu Shan, Didier Bonnet, Robert Hooijberg in Artificial Intelligence December 9, 2025 in Artificial Intelligence AI is reshaping cybersecurity, arming both hackers and defenders. Learn how to stay ahead in the fast-evolving AI cybersecurity arms race.... December 1, 2025 • by Tomoko Yokoi in Artificial Intelligence

Vibe coding lets anyone build apps in plain English using AI, unlocking innovation and speed—but businesses must manage security, compliance, and quality risks.... Many organizations will seek to gain more value from artificial intelligence in 2026. Harvard Business School faculty share four considerations for leaders planning to scale the technology. Many business leaders have made strides in bringing artificial intelligence into their organizations. In 2026, many will seek to wring more value from the technology. We asked Harvard Business School faculty what trends leaders might see in the coming year, especially as AI becomes omnipresent.

Here’s what they said. Their comments have been lightly edited for length and clarity. AI is no longer the experiment on the side; it’s rewiring how work gets done. And it is shifting from isolated tools people can choose to adopt (or ignore) to platforms that sit at the center of workflows, decisions, and customer journeys. The AI-native workforce is about to change everything. Our ongoing series brings you essential AI news and takeaways every month, helping you stay informed and ready for what’s next in the world of artificial intelligence.

The first graduates educated entirely in a post-ChatGPT world will enter the workforce next year. With the influx of these “AI-native” knowledge workers, leaders must rethink how they build and manage their teams. The youngest knowledge workers will soon be in a position to remake organizations in their image. Nokia CEO Justin Hotard thinks that companies should let it happen. In a recent op-ed for Fortune, Hotard argues that “opportunity lies in a new generation of AI-native professionals entering the workforce equipped for how technology is transforming roles, teams, and leadership.” As he sees... If organizations redesign onboarding, management, and decision-making to let these AI-native workers use AI as a coach and collaborator, early-career workers will be primed to learn faster and take on higher-impact work more quickly...

Everyone stands to benefit. November 13, 2025 by Pascal van den Berk, VP Performance Marketing at Lucidworks Based on Lucidworks’ 2025 AI Benchmark Study of 1,600+ AI leaders and autonomous analysis of 1,100+ companiesHeading into 2026, enterprise AI has entered what you might call a stage of cautious maturity. The enthusiasm is still there, but organizations are realizing that scaling AI is far more complicated than launching a pilot. Our latest research — drawing from a global survey of over 1,600 AI leaders and independent analysis of 1,100 company deployments — shows both the progress and the widening execution gap. On paper, adoption looks strong.

More than seven in ten organizations have introduced generative AI into their operations. Yet when you look closer, only 6% have fully implemented agentic AI—the next frontier in intelligent automation. Companies tend to fall into four categories. Some are Achievers (about a third of the market), balancing foundational and advanced capabilities with relative ease. Others are Builders, solid on the basics but still expanding. Climbers have experimented with advanced use cases but lack core operational underpinnings.

And then there are the Spectators, a sizable 41%, with little to show for their AI ambitions. Industry differences are just as telling. B2C companies are leading with 41% in the Achiever camp, while B2B trails at 31%. Healthcare organizations report the strongest benefits realized from AI investments, while the tech sector unsurprisingly leads in advanced adoption. This is the time of year when people make predictions, and I’ve seen many ambitious predictions for what organizations will achieve with AI. I’m a true believer in the transformative value AI can deliver, but there’s one prediction I can’t get on board with yet: that 2026 will be the year we see AI spread evenly throughout...

In 2026, AI will be everywhere at work, but it won’t be used evenly. Some teams dove in head-first; others will still be hesitant for the foreseeable future.The gap isn’t about access to models or tools. It’s about how work is designed, governed, and led. In most enterprises, AI adoption isn’t primarily a technology problem. It’s a trust, accountability, and operating-model problem. A growing number of people and teams will experiment with AI in 2026.

But truly even adoption — where AI is used consistently, confidently, and responsibly across roles — remains elusive. The first step to overcoming this challenge is to understand why adoption unevenness remains. The second is knowing what actually changes skeptical minds: not hype, but better conditions for adoption. AI adoption isn’t just a matter of choosing the right tools; some fundamentals are more important. Differences in task fit, risk and governance, manager effectiveness, incentives, and change capabilities will all lead to unbalanced adoption. The pace of workforce transformation is compounding.

AI has become embedded in daily work, yet most organizations still struggle to unlock its full value. Labor shortages, skill volatility, and the rise of AI agents are reshaping roles, workflows, and entire workforce models. Leaders can no longer treat people strategy and technology strategy as separate paths. This report breaks down the five biggest workforce shifts of 2026 and what leaders must do to redesign their organizations for a human + AI future. VANCOUVER, BC, Nov. 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Visier, the globally recognized leader in Workforce Intelligence and AI solutions, today released its anticipated report Trends 2026: The Business Case for Humans in the AI Era, revealing the five...

As AI adoption accelerates, this report acknowledges the widespread concerns and deep uncertainty about humanity's role in an increasingly automated world. It also puts the spotlight on leaders and managers in organizations, who will carry the torch in engaging with AI technologies responsibly, and leading their workforces towards gaining a better understanding of the usefulness... By providing actionable and strategic considerations for CHROs and business executives, this report serves as a powerful reminder that understanding, not avoidance, is the antidote to AI fear. "AI is transforming the workplace at lightning speed, but humans remain the catalyst for innovation, creativity, and connection," said Andrea Derler Ph.D., Principal of Research and Value at Visier. "Our new report calls on business and HR leaders to double down on human leadership and empower managers to embrace AI as a collaborator while reimagining the tech stack they work with every day. Companies that use AI to strengthen their people, not sideline them,e will lead in performance and profitability.

And ultimately will be set up to sustain and succeed no matter the external forces at play." The Visier 2026 Trends Report emphasizes a single, urgent message for the C-suite: as technology advances, the organizations that thrive will be those that equip their people, most especially their managers, with AI tools... Insights derived from useful business and people data delivered in the flow of work through powerful AI will be invaluable for business performance. 5 key trends for the upcoming year include:

People Also Search

AI Is About To Create The Biggest Competitive Divide Since

AI is about to create the biggest competitive divide since the internet. Not because the technology becomes magical in 2026 — it will get better, yes — but because the leaders who redesign how their organizations think, learn, and work will separate themselves from everyone else. The data is unambiguous: 95% of organizations are seeing zero ROI from their GenAI investments. Not because AI doesn’t ...

Not Because The Technology Becomes Magical In 2026 — It

Not because the technology becomes magical in 2026 — it will get better, yes — but because the leaders who redesign how their organizations think, learn, and work will separate themselves from everyone else. The data is unambiguous: 95% of organizations are seeing zero ROI from their GenAI investments. Not because AI doesn’t work, but because their operating model doesn’t. It touches every workflo...

Wade, Amit M. Joshi, Jialu Shan, Didier Bonnet, Robert Hooijberg

Wade, Amit M. Joshi, Jialu Shan, Didier Bonnet, Robert Hooijberg in Artificial Intelligence December 9, 2025 in Artificial Intelligence AI is reshaping cybersecurity, arming both hackers and defenders. Learn how to stay ahead in the fast-evolving AI cybersecurity arms race.... December 1, 2025 • by Tomoko Yokoi in Artificial Intelligence

Vibe Coding Lets Anyone Build Apps In Plain English Using

Vibe coding lets anyone build apps in plain English using AI, unlocking innovation and speed—but businesses must manage security, compliance, and quality risks.... Many organizations will seek to gain more value from artificial intelligence in 2026. Harvard Business School faculty share four considerations for leaders planning to scale the technology. Many business leaders have made strides in bri...

Here’s What They Said. Their Comments Have Been Lightly Edited

Here’s what they said. Their comments have been lightly edited for length and clarity. AI is no longer the experiment on the side; it’s rewiring how work gets done. And it is shifting from isolated tools people can choose to adopt (or ignore) to platforms that sit at the center of workflows, decisions, and customer journeys. The AI-native workforce is about to change everything. Our ongoing series...