The AI arms race of 2024 has given way to something more interesting in 2026: a quiet reckoning. Every executive we spoke to this quarter said their company had 'an AI strategy.' Almost none could describe what it changed about their business a year from now.
The winners we studied share three habits. They pick two problems, not twenty. They rebuild the data spine before they buy the model. And they measure adoption in workflows, not seats.
AI is a substrate. Strategy is what you build on top of it.
AI is a substrate. Strategy is what you build on top of it. The companies compounding this year understand that difference — and are quietly pulling away from the pack.