Will 2026 be the year enterprise AI delivers value?

Businesses person grappled with what GenAI and, subsequently, Agentic AI volition mean for endeavor workflows and processes. But with a greater knowing of AI usage cases for driving growth, alongside the implementation challenges involved, the absorption has present turned to worth and deliverable outcomes.

According to GlobalData Thematic Intelligence's Tech Predictions 2026, the Agentic AI ecosystem volition proceed to grow rapidly "despite uncertainty astir returns". The probe and investigation institution expects the planetary AI marketplace to scope $642bn successful 2029, up from $131bn successful 2024, supported by a increasing ecosystem of integrators, startups, and tech giants.

Verdict asked a transverse conception of elder exertion professionals astir their endeavor AI predictions for the coming year:

“In 2026, dozens of companies volition participate the marketplace to supply industry-specific agentic AI solutions. Despite this momentum, endeavor adoption successful the coming twelvemonth volition proceed to beryllium held backmost by uncertainty astir whether these tools tin adhd demonstrable concern value. Agentic AI is susceptible of delivering acold much worth than existing GenAI tools owed to its greater autonomy and methodical attack to reasoning, problem-solving, and decision-making. The adjacent measurement is crafting these agents for high-value usage cases that merit important semipermanent investment.”

"2025 was the twelvemonth UK enterprises learned what it truly takes to instrumentality agentic AI. The biggest acquisition was that agents tin lone run efficaciously erstwhile built connected unified data, beardown governance and an integrated ecosystem. Many organisations discovered that DIY approaches, from grooming in-house models to stitching agents onto scattered information sources, created much hazard than value. Where adoption succeeded, businesses paired enterprise-grade platforms with wide guardrails, allowing agents to harvester predictive insight, generative capableness and autonomous enactment crossed systems.

"In 2026, we'll spot a displacement from experimentation to scale. Agents volition statesman acting arsenic existent integer co-workers, managing analyzable workflows end-to-end alternatively than automating isolated tasks. The differentiator won't beryllium who has the astir blase model, but who has the astir coherent information strategy and governance framework. The UK enterprises that propulsion up volition beryllium those that determination past 'automation dressed up arsenic AI' and put successful agentic systems built for trust, interoperability and continuous oversight."