Good morning. Just three years ago, most companies viewed generative AI as an uncertain curiosity. Today, it’s hard to find a Fortune 500 company that isn’t rethinking its core processes to take advantage of this – a dynamic that is only accelerating as we approach 2026.
Leaders are no longer wondering whether generative AI will be important; they are racing to figure out how to make it operational. This shift was the topic of my conversation with Wharton marketing professor Stefano Puntoni, co-director of the Wharton Human-AI Research (WHAIR) initiative. Puntoni noted that the adoption of generative AI is growing at a telling pace. “I don’t think there’s a single company today saying, ‘Generative AI is not for us,’” he said.
The third annual WHAIR study, conducted with GBK Collective, highlights this acceleration, Puntoni told me. A survey of 800 senior executives across finance, IT, human resources and other functions at U.S. companies with more than $50 million in annual revenue found that 88% expect to increase investments in generative AI over the next year, and 62% expect budgets to increase by more than 10% within two to five years.
This marks a sharp reversal from 2023, when concerns about data leaks, regulatory liability and consumer protections – particularly in heavily regulated industries – led many companies to ban generative AI outright, Puntoni explained. Today, most companies move forward and find optimal implementation with guardrails, he said. “I think it will take a decade to really figure out how to use this technology, but it’s improving very quickly,” he added.
Usage patterns show the change. By 2023, only 37% of senior leaders were using generative AI every week. Today, 82% do so and 46% report daily use, according to the report. Because generative AI is a general-purpose technology, Puntoni and his colleagues expect its use to reach near-universal levels. “Half of senior executives in a large sample of U.S. companies say they use a tool every day; that’s truly amazing,” he said.
Measure progress
Executives appear optimistic about returns. According to the report, nearly three-quarters of respondents said their company tracks ROI using metrics such as profitability, productivity and throughput. Four in five people expect positive returns within two to three years, with senior managers more optimistic than middle managers.
However, progress varies depending on the size of the company. Larger companies see slower results when managing complex integrations, while small and medium-sized businesses report faster progress. Technology, banking and professional services companies are among the sectors making progress.
ROI reporting relies on self-assessments rather than concrete evidence, Puntoni said. Many organizations are still refining how they measure success, often focusing on intermediate metrics. “We should look at this data more as an idea of how they feel about this than as concrete evidence of what is happening inside these companies,” he added.
MIT’s August report reveals that, based on its data set, most companies struggle to generate immediate ROI from generative AI, from a profitability perspective, with back-office automation having the biggest impact. However, the MIT and WHAIR reports highlight a persistent barrier: the workforce skills gap.
The Wharton survey shows that 43% of executives warn of “skills atrophy,” highlighting the need for better AI training programs. As generative AI matures in the enterprise, organizational readiness is paramount: leadership alignment, workforce skills, governance and change management, not just technical capacity, according to the report.
Enterprise AI is already a priority on Wall Street, and investors are closely watching growing adoption by big tech companies and their customers. As we approach 2026, a clearer question arises: not whether generative AI will create value, but how companies can develop the skills, systems and governance needed to capture it.
SherylEstrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com
Ranking
Jeremy Evans was promoted to executive vice president and chief financial officer of Helios Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: HLIO), a provider of motion control and electronic technologies. Evans succeeds Michael Connaway, who left the company after joining Helios on October 13, 2025. The company said Connaway’s departure is not related to any disagreements. Evans joined Helios on January 24, 2024 and was promoted to Chief Accounting Officer on September 1, 2025. Prior to joining Helios, he accumulated 25 years of leadership experience at Tech Data, now TD SYNNEX Corporation, most recently serving as Vice President of Accounting Transformation.
Bryan Kyle was appointed financial director of Congaa revenue lifecycle management platform provider. Kyle brings more than 25 years of financial leadership experience at privately held and publicly traded technology companies. In addition to executing corporate finance strategies at Conga, he will oversee the financial integration of the planned acquisition of PROS B2B.
Big deal
The study found that about half of business owners believe the local (53%), national (48%), and global (45%) economies will improve over the next year. Many respondents said their confidence would increase as tariff policy stabilizes, inflation slows, interest rates fall and supply chains strengthen.
Other key findings include that around three in five business owners are currently affected by a labor shortage. Among those affected, 50% personally work more hours to compensate for staff shortages, and 40% increase their salaries to attract more competitive talent. Given the tightening job market, only 1% of business owners plan to lay off employees in the next 12 months, and 43% plan to hire more.
AI has become essential for business owners, with 77% integrating it into their operations over the past five years. Of these, AI is most widely used for marketing purposes, followed by content production, customer service, and inventory management. Small business payments for technology services, including AI, increased nearly 7% year over year in September, according to the Bank of America Institute.
“Business owners are entering the year ahead with confidence and a clear focus on growth,” Sharon Miller, president of business banking at Bank of America, said in a statement.
Go deeper
“America’s Exit from $38 Trillion National Debt Crisis Likely Means Rising Inflation and Erosion of Fed Independence, Says JPMorgan Private Bank” is a Fortune report by Eleanor Pringle.
Pringle writes: “Business leaders, policymakers, and investors are increasingly concerned about America’s borrowing burden, which currently stands at $38.15 trillion. The concern is not necessarily the size of this debt, but rather the US debt-to-GDP ratio – and therefore, its ability to convince investors that they can reliably repay this debt. It currently stands at around 120%. You can read the full report here.
Heard
—Bezos helped fund a new AI startup called Project Prometheus, with $6.2 billion in backing, The New York Times’ Cade Metz reported.
