AI is no longer an experiment sitting at the edge of the enterprise. According to Stanford’s 2026 AI Index, 88% of organisations surveyed reported using AI in at least one business function in 2025, up from 78% the year before. Generative AI alone was being used in at least one business function by 70% of organisations. Yet adoption is only the beginning.
McKinsey’s 2025 State of AI research found that while 88% of respondents said their organisations regularly use AI, nearly two-thirds had not yet begun scaling AI across the enterprise. Only 39% reported any enterprise-level EBIT impact from AI.
The message is clear “Most organizations are using AI. Far fewer are transforming with it”. That is where the next wave begins.
From copilots to agents
The biggest shift underway is the move from AI that assists to AI that can increasingly act.
A traditional AI assistant responds to a request. An AI agent can potentially understand an objective, break it into tasks, interact with enterprise systems and execute actions within defined boundaries.
Consider procurement.
Instead of simply helping an employee compare suppliers, an AI-enabled workflow could review the requirement, analyse supplier options, check policies, prepare documentation, route approvals and update enterprise systems—bringing a human into the loop when judgement is required. This isn’t simply automation. AI is becoming part of how work gets done.
The momentum is already visible. McKinsey found that 62% of organisations are at least experimenting with AI agents, while 23% report scaling an agentic AI system somewhere in the enterprise.
The real opportunity is the workflow
The biggest enterprise opportunity isn’t another AI chatbot or productivity tool. It is redesigning entire workflows around intelligence.
Take customer service. Instead of using AI simply to answer questions, organisations can rethink the complete customer journey.
AI can understand customer context, retrieve relevant information, diagnose issues, recommend solutions, initiate actions and monitor outcomes—while escalating complex cases to people.
The same principle applies across finance, HR, sales, procurement, operations and supply chain.
The question is no longer: “Where can we add AI?”
It is: “How would we redesign this process if AI were built into it from the beginning?”
This matters because McKinsey found that high-performing organisations are nearly three times more likely to fundamentally redesign workflows as part of their AI deployments.
That is the difference between AI adoption and AI transformation.
Strong AI needs strong foundations
There is another important reality: AI is only as useful as the data, systems and processes it can access.
Fragmented data, legacy applications and disconnected workflows can limit even the most powerful AI.
This becomes even more important as AI moves from generating content to making decisions and taking actions.
Enterprises need strong foundations across data, integration, security and governance—along with clear boundaries around what AI can access, decide and execute.
Deloitte’s research reinforces this challenge: among organisations exploring agentic AI, data deficiencies, risk management and regulatory uncertainty remain significant barriers.
The goal isn’t unlimited autonomy. It is controlled autonomy.
The future is human + AI
The next wave of AI isn’t simply about replacing people. AI can increasingly handle information-heavy, repetitive and structured work. Humans remain essential for judgement, creativity, relationships, leadership and accountability.
The emerging model is straightforward:
- Humans define the objectives
- AI handles complexity
- Humans exercise judgement
- AI executes within boundaries
This will reshape roles, skills and operating models across the enterprise.
The next competitive advantage
AI models will continue to improve. Access to AI will become easier. Technology itself will become less of a differentiator. The real advantage will come from how effectively an organisation turns AI capability into business capability.
One company may use AI to help employees work faster. Another may redesign its workflows, connect its data, create human-AI teams and embed intelligence into its operating model. Both are using AI. Only one is truly transforming.
At Smalt & Beryl, we believe technology creates the most value when it enables organizations to evolve – not simply digitize what already exists.
The next chapter of enterprise transformation isn’t about adding AI to the business. It is about rethinking the business with AI in mind. The question is no longer: “Where can we use AI?”
It is: “What could our organization become if intelligence were built into the way our most important work gets done?”
That is the next wave of AI in enterprise transformation.