SAP Value of AI: Oxford Economics 2026

The report "The Value of AI 2026," produced by SAP and Oxford Economics, examines how 2,600 companies across 13 countries (Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States) are investing in artificial intelligence (AI), what returns they are achieving, and what obstacles they face. It is aimed at executives and leaders in strategy, technology, and digital transformation who need comparable data to justify and prioritize their AI investments.

The study shows that AI already supports 30% of business tasks, a share expected to reach 48% within two years. The proportion of companies with a holistic AI strategy has risen from 9% to 17%, though most still invest project by project. Agentic AI is advancing strongly — 83% see high transformative potential and 64% have already run agentic pilots — yet only 3% of organizations consider themselves fully prepared to deploy agents at scale.

On value creation, average AI spend reaches US$28 million per company, with ROI of 21% this year expected to grow to 38% within two years. The sharpest jump is in agentic AI, whose projected ROI quadruples last year's estimates to US$17.6 million. 69% of companies report satisfaction with their current ROI, and the greatest perceived benefit lies in generating insights and supporting decision-making, more than in cost efficiency.

The report also details the main challenges to scaling AI: data quality and availability (cited by 73% of companies, with only 62% feeling ready), a lack of dedicated skills and leadership, workforce impact — with concerns over eroding judgment and on-the-job learning — the growing use of unauthorized "shadow AI," and, above all, governance: only 12% feel fully ready to govern AI effectively, a gap that widens with the rise of autonomous agents, where more than a third lack access controls or human oversight.

The report concludes that capturing real value from AI requires integrating it with an organization's data, processes, and governance mechanisms. SAP calls this approach the "Autonomous Enterprise."

Key points

• AI already supports 30% of business tasks, heading toward 48% in two years
• Average AI spend: US$28 million per company
• Average ROI of 21% this year, forecast to reach 38% in two years
• Projected agentic AI ROI: US$17.6 million
• Holistic AI strategies: up from 9% to 17% of companies
• 83% see high transformative potential in agentic AI; 64% have already run pilots
• Only 3% consider themselves ready to deploy agents at scale
• 69% of companies satisfied with their current ROI
• 73% identify data as the main obstacle to generating value
• Only 12% feel ready to govern AI effectively