McKinsey 2026 AI survey: agentic coding scales, but enterprise ROI stays flat

The state of AI in 2026: On the road to ROI

McKinsey's 2026 global survey finds 40% of large enterprises (revenue >$1B) now scale AI agents, up from 27% last year. About 31% of large firms scale agentic coding tools, and 32% of all respondents say they skipped buying software because they could build it in-house with those tools. Yet enterprise-level EBIT impact is stuck at 37%, and the share of 'AI high performers' (≥5% EBIT from AI) remains flat at 6%. Individual productivity tells a different story: 80% report personal gains. Roughly 20% say AI operating costs, including token spend, are already constraining usage, though most still plan to increase investment.

Why it matters: McKinsey's annual AI survey delivers two hard numbers — 40% of large firms scaling agents, 32% ditching off-the-shelf software — but the flat 37% EBIT impact is the real tension. Solid industry pulse data, but it's a consulting firm's own survey, not a product launch or techni...