This isn’t another hype piece. It’s a 97-page benchmark built on quantitative and qualitative data from 20 CTOs and senior AI leaders managing $1M+ AI budgets and teams of 1,000+. See what’s actually working, what’s breaking in production, and what AI leaders across tech, pharma, telecom, and manufacturing are prioritizing for 2026.
Experts Credited by Name
With over 20 years of experience leading large-scale development projects and more than 24 years in web architecture, Bill drives technology strategy and operations for a global EdTech platform serving millions of learners.
Bill Salak
CTO / COO, Brainly
Nathanael leads three specialized teams working on applied AI, MLOps, and innovation across domains, including telecom. His background spans ML, deep learning, and productizing analytics in complex environments.
Nathanael Weill
Director of Data Science & AI Practice Lead,
B-YOND
Szymon spearheads engineering and AI/automation efforts. His companies emphasise practical automation in enterprise and startup contexts, solving real business problems rather than chasing buzzwords.
Szymon Drejewicz
CEO / CTO, DoneChecked; Group Engineering Director, ASEE
Ilya brings deep experience in enterprise automation and AI deployment across regulated industries such as finance, turning AI strategy into measurable operational results.
Ilya Vadeiko
Chief AI Officer
Paweł transitioned from consulting (including McKinsey/BCG-type roles) to founding a sports analytics AI startup that is already gaining global traction, making advanced computer vision and AI accessible in sports and media.
Paweł Osterreicher
CEO & Co-Founder
Rafał leads data & product efforts at a startup specialising in data-driven tools for e-commerce and enterprise settings, focusing on strong architectural foundations, security, and scalable solutions.
Rafał Idzik
Head of Data & Product
This report draws on insights also from senior AI leaders whose companies cannot be disclosed due to confidentiality agreements. They include CTOs, Heads of AI, and Data Science Directors from Fortune 500 enterprises and high-growth tech firms across manufacturing, telecom, pharma, healthcare, and software.
What’s Inside the Report
of experts have 10+ years in AI/ML
pages of insights and analysis
data visuals and charts, illustrating trends
Who Is This For?
This report is made for senior technology leaders building AI that works – not just demos.
CTOs & AI Executives
Turning proofs of concept into production-grade systems that deliver measurable impact across complex tech stacks.
AI Directors & Program Leads
Navigating the realities of budgets, compliance, and change management while keeping innovation moving.
Technical Founders & Engineering Leaders
Designing infrastructure that scales, integrates securely, and supports sustainable AI adoption.
Enterprise AI & Data Teams
Ready to move from what’s possible to what’s proven — building reliable, domain-specific AI systems that create value fast.
What’s Inside
Key Findings You’ll Discover
Inside the real-world strategies shaping LLM adoption in 2025–26.
Agents, RAG & Copilots Lead 2026 Investments
65% are prioritizing agentic systems, retrieval pipelines, and copilots over generic models.
Knowledge Is the Core Use Case
75% use LLMs for knowledge management, making it the backbone of enterprise efficiency.
Focus Beats Funding
35% manage $1M+ AI budgets, but smaller, focused teams often deliver faster results.
Security Is the New Bottleneck
Data security and compliance now outweigh accuracy and cost as top barriers to scale.
Hybrid Wins
SaaS + open source stacks dominate, giving enterprises the right balance of speed, control, and compliance.
Hands-On Leaders, Real Challenges
85% of respondents work directly with LLMs – yet most cite infrastructure, not models, as their biggest blocker.
4 Reasons It’s Worth Your Time
Built from 20 in-depth CTO interviews, real enterprise data, and lessons from hundreds of AI projects delivered as an OpenAI and Anthropic partner, this report captures what’s actually happening when AI moves from proof-of-concept to production.
Field-Tested Lessons
Every takeaway comes from production systems in pharma, telecom, legal, healthcare, and tech – not research labs.
Actionable Benchmarks
See how 80% of AI teams track ROI through time and cost savings – and where efficiency gains really come from.
Next-Gen Focus Areas
Understand what’s coming next: agentic systems, multimodal AI, and domain-tuned LLMs ready for enterprise use.
Independent & Trusted
Published by deepsense.ai, an OpenAI and Anthropic Service Partner with 200+ enterprise AI projects – no hype, no ads, no paywalls.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is this report aimed at?
This report is designed for senior technology leaders — CTOs, AI Executives, Technical Founders and Enterprise AI/Data Teams — who are moving beyond proof-of-concept into full production systems at scale.
What industries does the report cover?
It draws on insights from enterprises in tech/software, healthcare & pharma, telecom & media, manufacturing and professional services — giving you cross-industry relevance.
What is the format and length of the report?
The report is 97 pages long, includes both quantitative and qualitative data, 15+ visual charts, and a mix of interview insights and enterprise case studies.
How many leaders contributed to the report, and how credible is the sample?
Insights come from 20 senior AI leaders and CTOs – many of whom oversee 1,000+-person teams and $1 M+ AI budgets. Their contributions are supported by our experience across hundreds of enterprise AI projects as OpenAI and Anthropic partners.
Can I trust the findings? Are they truly based on real production systems?
Yes — this is not a marketing whitepaper. Every insight comes from real-world production environments across large organisations. The report focuses on what’s actually working, what’s failing, and how leaders are prioritising for 2026.
What key topics will I learn about?
You’ll learn how AI teams measure ROI, what the major deployment barriers are (especially people and infrastructure over models), what investment priorities are for 2026 (like agents, RAG, copilots), and how hybrid stacks (SaaS + open source) are winning.
How do I access the report and what’s the cost?
You can download the eBook directly by clicking the “Download the Report” button on the landing page. There’s no hype, no ads, no paywall — just a direct download link from our organisation.