Data study ·
The Wharton-GBK report "La ventaja adaptativa" reveals the AI return-on-investment gap in business
Original title, in Spanish: “El informe de Wharton–GBK «La ventaja adaptativa: quién está ganando con la IA y cómo» revela la brecha en el retorno de la inversión en IA”
- Publication
- Unite.AI (United States)
- Author
- Unsigned
- Published on
- 14 October 2026 · read in the page metadata
Summary
The fourth annual report from Wharton Human-AI Research and GBK Collective, published on 13 October 2026, measures the gap between AI adoption and return on investment in large US companies. Among 1,416 employees surveyed (1,007 managers/executives and 409 entry-level/mid-level employees at companies with 1,000+ employees and more than $50M in revenue), 80% of managers report positive returns, but only 28% rate them as very positive. Organisations that measure growth (and not only efficiency), appoint a dedicated chief AI officer or standardise on a single platform achieve markedly better results. 67% of departments use AI agents, but only 28% fully integrate AI into core processes. 37% of managers report AI-related job cuts and 33% report a slowdown in hiring.
Summary based on the full text of the article.
Read the article on Unite.AI →Figures cited
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80 %
Share of managers and executives reporting positive returns from their department's AI investments
Managers and senior managers at US private companies with 1,000+ employees, July 2026
« El 80 % de los gerentes y los encuestados de cargos superiores afirma que las inversiones de su departamento en IA generan retornos positivos, pero solo el 28 % los califica de muy positivos. »
Source: Wharton Human-AI Research / GBK Collective, « La ventaja adaptativa : quién está ganando con la IA y cómo »
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28 %
Share of respondents rating AI returns as very positive
Managers and senior managers, Wharton-GBK study sample, July 2026
« pero solo el 28 % los califica de muy positivos »
Source: Wharton Human-AI Research / GBK Collective
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35 %
Very positive returns among departments that measure growth (vs efficiency)
Departments tracking at least one growth metric
« Entre quienes hacen seguimiento de al menos una medida de crecimiento, el 35 % informa de retornos de la IA muy positivos, frente al 13 % de quienes miden únicamente la eficiencia. »
Source: Wharton Human-AI Research / GBK Collective
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13 %
Very positive returns among departments measuring efficiency only
Departments tracking efficiency metrics only
« frente al 13 % de quienes miden únicamente la eficiencia »
Source: Wharton Human-AI Research / GBK Collective
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83 %
Share of managers expecting AI to bring major industry transformation within 2 to 5 years
Managers and senior managers
« el 83 % de los gerentes y los cargos superiores espera que la IA transforme fundamentalmente su sector o lo afecte de manera sustancial en un plazo de entre dos y cinco años »
Source: Wharton Human-AI Research / GBK Collective
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67 %
Share of departments using AI agents in some form
Departments of companies in the sample
« el 67 % de los departamentos afirma utilizar agentes de IA de alguna forma »
Source: Wharton Human-AI Research / GBK Collective
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28 %
Share of respondents describing AI as fully integrated into core processes
Study sample
« solo el 28 % describe la IA como plenamente integrada en sus procesos empresariales centrales »
Source: Wharton Human-AI Research / GBK Collective
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17 %
Share of respondents allowing AI to operate autonomously
Study sample
« apenas el 17 % permite que funcione de manera autónoma, con revisión humana posterior o sustituida por supervisión y salvaguardas »
Source: Wharton Human-AI Research / GBK Collective
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67 %
Very positive ROI among departments meeting all three workflow transformation conditions
Departments whose workflows have changed significantly, with integrated AI and agents in use
« Entre los departamentos que cumplen esta definición conjunta, el 67 % informa de un ROI muy positivo. »
Source: Wharton Human-AI Research / GBK Collective
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58 %
Very positive returns in organisations that have created a dedicated chief AI officer role
Managers and senior managers at organisations with a dedicated chief AI officer
« Entre los gerentes y los cargos superiores de esas organizaciones, el 58 % informa de retornos muy positivos »
Source: Wharton Human-AI Research / GBK Collective
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8 %
Very positive returns in organisations without a dedicated AI role
Organisations with no AI oversight role and no plan to create one
« La cifra es del 8 % en las organizaciones donde no existe un cargo de ese tipo ni se prevé crear uno. »
Source: Wharton Human-AI Research / GBK Collective
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50 %
Very positive returns among organisations standardised on a single approved AI platform
Organisations with a single standardised AI platform
« El 50 % de los encuestados cuyas organizaciones se han estandarizado en torno a una única plataforma de IA aprobada informa de retornos muy positivos, frente al 9 % de quienes todavía experimentan sin un enfoque definido. »
Source: Wharton Human-AI Research / GBK Collective
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37 %
Share of managers reporting AI-related job cuts
Managers and senior managers
« El 37 % de los directivos y cargos superiores informa de recortes de personal relacionados con la IA »
Source: Wharton Human-AI Research / GBK Collective
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33 %
Share of managers reporting an AI-related hiring slowdown or freeze
Managers and senior managers
« el 33 % señala una ralentización o congelación de las contrataciones »
Source: Wharton Human-AI Research / GBK Collective
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73 %
Share of entry-level/mid-level employees reporting a positive effect of AI on their job
Entry-level and mid-level employees
« El 73 % de los empleados de nivel inicial e intermedio afirma que la IA ha tenido un efecto positivo en su puesto »
Source: Wharton Human-AI Research / GBK Collective
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1,416 people
Survey sample size
Full-time employees of US private companies with 1,000+ employees and more than $50M in revenue, surveyed from 9 to 29 July 2026
« La investigación encuestó a 1.416 empleados a tiempo completo de empresas del sector privado de Estados Unidos con al menos 1.000 empleados y más de 50 millones de dólares en ingresos. »
Source: Wharton Human-AI Research / GBK Collective
Classification
- Country
- United States
- Company size
- Mid-sized companies, Large companies
- Industries
- All industries, or industry not specified
- Companies
- GBK Collective (study author), Wharton Human-AI Research (study author)
- Keywords
- return on investment, AI agents, workflows, chief AI officer, productivity, employment
Entry written by Marsanne Studio from the cited article, with the help of an AI model (claude-sonnet-5). The rights to the article and its illustrations belong to Unite.AI. Entry translated from French by Claude Sonnet 5.5.