Last updated: June 2026. Reviewed by Report AI editorial. Every figure on this page is linked to its primary source.
ENTERPRISE AI 2026 — KEY DATA POINTS
$37B
Enterprise GenAI spend
2025 (3.2× YoY)
Menlo Ventures
23%
Scaling agentic AI
+39% experimenting
McKinsey
40%+
Agentic projects canceled
projected by 2027
Gartner
Enterprise generative-AI spend, 2024–2025 (Menlo Ventures) · See all comparison charts →
Enterprise generative-AI spending reached roughly $37 billion in 2025 — more than triple the prior year (Menlo Ventures). At the same time, 23% of organizations are now scaling agentic AI with another 39% experimenting (McKinsey), yet Gartner warns that more than 40% of agentic AI projects will be canceled by 2027 (Gartner). Below are the key enterprise AI statistics for 2026, each dated and sourced.
Executive summary
- Fast Fact: Enterprises spent $37B on generative AI in 2025 — split roughly $19B applications / $18B infrastructure — with coding the single largest departmental category (~55% of departmental application-layer spend).
- Primary Driver: Agentic AI moved from concept to production in 2025–26. 23% of organizations are scaling agentic systems and Gartner expects 33% of enterprise applications to embed agentic AI by 2028 (up from <1% in 2024).
- The Bottleneck: Only 39% of organizations attribute any EBIT impact to AI, and Gartner projects 40%+ of agentic projects will be canceled by 2027 due to unclear ROI and weak governance.
- ROI Gap: Expectations are high — PagerDuty’s 2025 survey finds companies anticipate 171% average ROI (192% in the U.S.) on agentic AI — but those are projections, not realized returns.
Enterprise AI spending & deployment
| Metric | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Enterprise GenAI spending (2025) | $37B (3.2× 2024) | Menlo Ventures |
| Application vs. infrastructure split | $19B / $18B | Menlo Ventures |
| Organizations scaling agentic AI | 23% (+39% piloting) | McKinsey |
| Expected agentic AI ROI | 171% avg (192% U.S.) | PagerDuty |
| Enterprise apps with agentic AI by 2028 | 33% (from <1% in 2024) | Gartner |
| Agentic AI projects canceled by 2027 | 40%+ | Gartner |
Where enterprise GenAI budgets go
Within the $19 billion 2025 application-layer spend, the departmental breakdown is concentrated in engineering — coding tools alone account for roughly $4 billion (~55% of departmental spend), per Menlo Ventures:
| Department | Share of departmental AI spend |
|---|---|
| Coding / engineering | ~55% ($4.0B) |
| IT | ~10% |
| Marketing | ~9% |
| Customer success | ~9% |
| Design | ~7% |
| HR | ~5% |
Deep dive: why coding is the biggest enterprise use case
Coding has clean, measurable productivity outcomes and shows the fastest time-to-value among enterprise GenAI workloads. The category includes AI pair-programmers, agentic IDE assistants, code review, and automated migration tooling — all of which compound on a developer base that organizations are already paying for, making per-seat ROI relatively easy to justify.
The rise of AI agents
Agentic AI is the defining enterprise trend of 2026. McKinsey finds 23% of organizations already scaling an agentic system, with another 39% experimenting. Gartner expects 33% of enterprise software applications to embed agentic AI by 2028, up from less than 1% in 2024 — while cautioning that much of today’s activity is early-stage and that “agent washing” (rebranding non-agentic products as agents) is widespread.
ROI: high expectations, uneven reality
Expectations are sky-high: in PagerDuty’s 2025 survey of 1,000 executives, companies anticipate an average 171% ROI on agentic AI (192% in the U.S.), and more than half say they’ve already deployed agents. But these are projected returns. The realized picture is more sober — McKinsey finds only 39% of organizations attribute any EBIT impact to AI so far, and a small group of roughly 6% “AI high performers” captures a disproportionate share of the value. The gap between expected and realized ROI is the defining enterprise-AI story of 2026.
Top barriers: governance & cost
- Governance & risk controls. Gartner projects 40%+ of agentic AI projects will be canceled by 2027 due to unclear ROI, escalating costs, and inadequate controls.
- Agent washing. Gartner estimates only a small fraction of vendors claiming “agentic” capabilities actually deliver them — buyer due diligence is now critical.
- Workflow redesign. Only the small group of high performers reports meaningful EBIT impact — they redesign workflows around AI rather than bolt it on.
- Runaway inference cost. Although unit inference is cheap, total cost can scale rapidly with agentic loops and multi-step reasoning.
Frequently asked questions
How much do enterprises spend on AI?
Enterprises spent roughly $37 billion on generative AI in 2025, up 3.2× from $11.5 billion in 2024 — split approximately $19B on applications and $18B on infrastructure (Menlo Ventures).
What is the ROI of enterprise AI in 2026?
Expectations are high — PagerDuty’s 2025 survey finds companies anticipate an average 171% ROI on agentic AI (192% for U.S. enterprises) — but these are projections. In practice, McKinsey reports only 39% of organizations attribute any EBIT impact to AI, with returns concentrated among a small group of high performers.
How many enterprises use AI agents?
McKinsey finds 23% of organizations are scaling an agentic AI system and 39% are experimenting. Gartner forecasts 33% of enterprise software applications will embed agentic AI by 2028, up from under 1% in 2024.
Why do enterprise AI projects fail?
The main causes are weak governance, unclear ROI, and runaway costs. Gartner projects over 40% of agentic AI projects will be canceled by the end of 2027.
Data sources & methodology
This page indexes primary research from leading consultancy reports, venture-capital industry surveys, and analyst forecasts.
- Menlo Ventures — 2025: The State of Generative AI in the Enterprise, December 2025.
Verified data points: $37B enterprise GenAI spend; 3.2× YoY growth; $19B/$18B application/infrastructure split; departmental spend breakdown.
Source: menlovc.com/perspective/2025-the-state-of-generative-ai-in-the-enterprise - McKinsey QuantumBlack — The State of AI, November 2025.
Verified data points: 23% scaling agentic AI (+39% experimenting); 39% EBIT impact attribution; ~6% AI high performers.
Source: mckinsey.com/quantumblack/state-of-ai - Gartner — Predicts Over 40% of Agentic AI Projects Will Be Canceled by End of 2027, June 2025.
Verified data points: 40%+ agentic AI cancellation forecast; 33% enterprise apps with agentic AI by 2028.
Source: gartner.com - PagerDuty — Agentic AI Survey 2025.
Verified data points: 171% avg expected ROI (192% U.S.); 1,000 executives surveyed; majority report at least one agent deployed.
Source: pagerduty.com/newsroom/agentic-ai-survey-2025
Related pages: AI Adoption Statistics 2026 · Generative AI Statistics 2026 · Methodology
Related Reports & Resources
Other reports in this cluster (Business & Enterprise): LLM Market Report 2026 — provider share, enterprise LLM spend, and the Anthropic-vs-OpenAI shift driving enterprise AI budgets.
Compare year-over-year: Enterprise GenAI spend chart · LLM market share chart · State of AI by year.
Background reading: AI Adoption Statistics 2026 · Generative AI Statistics 2026 · AI Investment & Funding 2026.
Key concepts: AI Agent · Generative AI · Large Language Model.
Browse the category: All Statistics & Reports → Business & Enterprise cluster.