As the year 2025 comes to a close, the AI domain that experienced a “hype” over the past 2-3 years is now entering a consolidation phase. After years of AI “experimentation,” business leaders are back to focusing on the essentials of governance and change management to ensure that their initiatives deliver business value at scale.

In 2025, AI adoption reached a critical inflection point. Following the emergence of GenAI and, more recently, Agentic AI, industries are recognizing their impact on individual productivity, but not on business transformation and revenues. 

A recent MIT report highlights that while U.S.-based companies have invested between $35 to $40 billion in GenAI projects, just 5% have resulted in substantial revenue growth. Effectively, if 2025 was all about “potential,” 2026 will focus on “performance.” Business success is no longer about adopting the best AI tool, but more about effective AI orchestration.

Here’s a deeper insight into how the AI story evolved in 2025 and is expected to transform in 2026.

Breaking away from AI’s “pilot fatigue”

The business reality of AI “pilot fatigue” reached its peak in 2025. Despite accelerated adoption, AI initiatives have failed to deliver business value in recent years. On average, 70% of AI projects have failed to move past their pilot phase. The problem lies not in the actual technology, but in broader business factors, such as:

• Lack of data foundation and quality
• Unclear business objectives
• Lack of change management
• Data governance and compliance issues

To break away from pilot fatigue, enterprises need to approach AI solutions as a strategic business-level implementation, and not simply as an isolated experiment. This marks a gradual shift from the mindset of “what AI can do” to “how AI can address this specific business problem.”

AI experts also emphasize the importance of a human-centric approach, which adds a new dynamic to the people-and-technology relationship. Instead of replacing people with technology, the focus is on improving user engagement and designing integrated solutions.

In 2026, organizations can shift their AI-enabled ROI from “time and cost savings” to leveraging AI as a digital infrastructure. Here’s how they can scale their AI to the next level:

What’s in store for AI in 2026?

Going ahead, AI will enter a new phase of development in 2026. Beyond the pilot projects and proofs of concept, business leaders are now asking serious questions such as:

• How does AI technology drive my business growth?
• How can we scale AI more responsibly without hampering business operations?
• How do we measure the impact of AI in 2026 and govern it for our benefit?

More than simply automation, companies are demanding AI-enabled autonomous workflows that can run an entire workflow (without human intervention) with measurable results. By deploying multiple agents, Agentic AI platforms can now plan, collaborate, and achieve business outcomes without micromanagement. Effectively, AI agents in 2026 will emerge as the new “middleware” between people, processes, and technology platforms.

As AI becomes an integral part of any business infrastructure, data sovereignty and governance will gain more focus and emphasis in 2026. A KPMG survey found that 68% of financial companies are prioritizing the use of AI in risk and compliance management. Going forward, enterprises are expected to shift from reactive AI checklists to real-time governance. 

Conclusion

Among the leading trends, AI in 2026 will not remain simply as another business tool, but more as an enterprise-level fabric, which can autonomously run the entire business.

Onix’s latest report on ” Top AI trends in 2025 – and what to expect in 2026″ explores a wide range of current developments and projections for AI technology. In this downloadable report, you can gain insight into AI-powered innovations and how to leverage their capabilities.