Arlington, Va. – September 11, 2026 -- Eighty-four percent of senior business leaders say at least one cultural factor is limiting their organization's success with artificial intelligence, even as AI adoption delivers measurable productivity and quality gains, according to a new survey from Eagle Hill Consulting.
AI adoption spreads evenly across core business functions
The Eagle Hill Consulting AI Capabilities survey of 306 U.S. director-level and above executives finds organizations deploying AI at nearly equal rates across business operations (73 percent), decision support and analytics (72 percent), and employee productivity and knowledge work (71 percent). Sixty-six percent of respondents report improved employee productivity, 59 percent cite improved operational efficiency, 55 percent report improved quality of work, and 53 percent report improved customer experience.
Leaders underweight culture and work redesign as success factors
While 52 percent of leaders identify data quality and availability, and 47 percent cite technology platforms and infrastructure, as top drivers of AI success, only 18 percent point to work redesign and just 9 percent identify culture. Yet when asked directly about cultural obstacles, 30 percent cite employee hesitation to change established workflows, 27 percent cite AI governance processes slowing experimentation, and 26 percent cite short-term priorities crowding out learning time.
Fewer than half of organizations have institutionalized continuous work redesign
Only 45 percent of leaders surveyed say their organization has an established management practice for continuously reviewing and improving work as AI capabilities evolve. Forty-seven percent report systematically identifying AI opportunities through enterprise-wide processes, while 23 percent rely primarily on individual functions or teams. On dividing work between people and AI, 72 percent use explicit criteria such as business value, risk, and workforce capacity, leaving 28 percent without a formal process.
Workforce development and leadership coordination lag adoption
Thirty-nine percent of organizations provide training when new AI technology is introduced, but only 31 percent plan AI-related employee development as part of broader workforce planning. On leadership practices, 37 percent of respondents say leaders review and adjust enterprise-wide work organization as AI changes operations, 28 percent say leaders coordinate changes across functions, 23 percent say leaders primarily support adoption, and 12 percent say leaders focus improvements within their own teams.
AI expands employee opportunities beyond speed and cost savings
Eighty-nine percent of respondents say AI has increased employees' opportunities to build expertise, 88 percent report increased focus on high-value work, and 87 percent report more creative or intellectually engaging work. Seventy-eight percent cite increased clarity of roles and responsibilities, 73 percent report greater ownership of work outcomes, and 58 percent say employee burnout has decreased because of AI.
"Organizations may be underestimating just how much AI transformation is organizational transformation," said Melissa Jezior, president and chief executive officer of Eagle Hill Consulting. The survey was conducted by Ipsos from August 3-6, 2026, among directors, vice presidents, and C-suite executives at U.S. companies with annual revenue of at least $100 million where AI adoption is established.