The State of AI: Global Survey 2025 | McKinsey

Enterprise AI Adoption in 2026: A Blueprint for Technical Leaders The McKinsey State of AI: Global Survey 2026 confirms that AI is no longer a “nice‑to‑have” but a mission‑critical capability for the majority of digitally mature enterprises. Sixty‑seven percent of surveyed firms now consider AI essential to their core operations, yet only one in three can build and run large‑scale models on‑premise or at scale. For leaders steering technology strategy, the message is clear: invest early in model maturity, secure talent, embed governance, and adopt hybrid compute architectures before latency demands or regulatory pressure force reactive fixes. Executive Snapshot Mission‑critical AI adoption: 70 % of digital‑first firms rely on AI for core operations (up from 60 % in 2025). Model maturity gap: Only 35 % have the capability to deploy strategic -tier models (1–3 B parameters) independently. Compute budgets climbed 25 % year‑over‑year, reaching an average of $12 M per enterprise in 2026. Latency requirements are tightening: 60 % of use cases now demand sub‑10 ms inference, pushing edge AI to the forefront. Data governance has become a compliance prerequisite; 80 % of firms have formal stewardship policies. These numbers are not merely statistics—they represent a tipping point where the cost of inaction outweighs the investment required for a robust AI strategy. The following analysis dissects each dimension, translates technical nuances into business value, and delivers concrete steps that leaders can deploy immediately. Strategic Business Implications – Enterprise AI Adoption 2026 The survey’s three‑tier model maturity framework— Foundational , Operational , and Strategic —mirrors the way enterprises evaluate technology investments. A foundational model (hundreds of millions of parameters) is typically a SaaS offering; operational models (500 M–1 B parameters) are often hybrid‑cloud deployments; strategic models (>1 B parameters) represent in‑house, domain‑specific solu