Deloitte’s October 2026 report, The State of AI in the Enterprise, raises a question for every business investing in AI: how can it identify real business value? The research surveyed 3,500 senior leaders across 25 countries in May and June 2026, all from organizations already using AI in their daily operations.
Faster decisions are common; deep business transformation is much less so. Improved decision-making and execution speed is reported by 81% of respondents, while 25% describe their use of AI as deeply transforming the business. A more useful tool does not automatically translate into a new product, a better process or a different business model.
Revenue gains are becoming more visible. The share of companies reporting revenue gains from AI reached 28%, compared with 20% in the January report. This is the proportion reporting a benefit, not a claim that their revenue increased by 28%.
Cost tracking needs greater detail. While 71% of organizations track total spending on AI inference and API calls, 44% track per-unit inference costs. Business evaluation benefits from connecting spending to a specific outcome, such as a processed request or a completed document.
AI autonomy requires clear accountability. Forty percent of organizations allow AI to execute decisions or actions without human approval to at least a moderate degree. Separately, 23% say accountability for a negative AI outcome is unclear. These percentages do not necessarily describe the same companies.
Our interpretation for business practice: start with one important process, establish a baseline and measure the quality, time and cost of the outcome. Define who checks the output, approves actions and responds to errors. Such a pilot provides a more concrete basis for deciding whether to expand adoption.
These findings reflect respondents’ accounts from organizations already using AI. They are neither a measure of the entire economy nor findings specific to the Montenegrin market.