This week’s coverage highlights how AI is being deployed in actual business functions, how leaders are navigating adoption challenges, and what key trends executives should watch as artificial intelligence moves deeper into mainstream operations.
1. Nearly half of U.S. companies are now subscribing to AI tools, data shows
New data from Ramp, a corporate credit and expense management platform tracking roughly 50,000 companies, shows that as of early 2026, 47 % of businesses had subscribed to AI services such as ChatGPT and related tools, up sharply from 26 % a year earlier. While this sample skews toward digitally progressive firms, the numbers illustrate a meaningful surge in real enterprise usage across sectors, signaling that AI adoption is no longer a niche or experiment but part of core business strategy for many organizations.
2. Walmart reshapes its executive team around AI and customer experience
Retail giant Walmart made strategic changes to its leadership team ahead of its new CEO’s arrival, promoting executives with strong AI and digital backgrounds to oversee areas such as AI-driven commerce, advertising, subscriptions, and data ventures. This reorganization reflects Walmart’s intent to integrate AI into customer experience and operational decision-making, moving beyond pilot projects to permanent capability building.
3. Snowflake CEO urges a pragmatic, use-case-first approach to enterprise AI
Snowflake’s CEO Sridhar Ramaswamy shared executive insight this week emphasizing that businesses should avoid both “utopian” and “doom-laden” extremes when evaluating AI. Instead, he advocates for practical, incremental adoption that prioritizes specific business outcomes, such as improved developer productivity, better data analytics, and workflow automation, rather than expecting transformational change overnight. His message resonates with many CIOs who are balancing ambition and realism in AI strategy execution.
Read the full story on Business Insider
4. Survey: 90% of C-suite leaders plan to increase AI investments in 2026
A new survey found that 90 % of C-suite executives plan to increase their AI investments this year, even as companies struggle with talent shortages and unclear short-term ROI. Executives cited the anticipation of long-term competitive advantage and operational efficiency as the primary drivers of this commitment. This trend underscores that AI remains a strategic priority at the highest levels of business, despite adoption challenges and talent constraints.
Read the full story on Economic Times
5. Retail leaders predict AI agents will redefine retail operations and commerce
At CES and in recent surveys of more than 800 retail executives, industry leaders pointed to agentic AI, autonomous systems that execute tasks on behalf of humans, as a key trend for 2026. Use cases extend from automated inventory ordering and supply chain decisions to personalized shopper experiences and integrated autonomous buying. While only a minority of retailers have fully deployed such agents today, the strategic focus is shifting toward definition of measurable business outcomes and governance frameworks to scale beyond experimentation.
6. 2026 Corporate AI Outlook Study
Benchmark how AI leaders are scaling adoption, managing risk, and funding AI priorities for 2026. The 2026 Corporate AI Outlook Study shares practical findings from a national survey conducted by the AI Leaders Council from October through December 2025, with more than 200 executives across North America participating.
Why It Matters
- AI is moving from optional to foundational. The dramatic increase in business subscriptions shows that executives are moving beyond pilots and trials to real deployments that impact operations and workflows.
- Leadership structures are adjusting for AI strategy. Walmart’s executive reshuffle signals that AI is now a core part of organizational design rather than an add-on capability.
- C-suite views are evolving toward realism. Influential tech CEOs are encouraging strategic, use-case-driven adoption that aligns with measured business outcomes.
- Investment confidence remains strong. Even as ROI measurement lag remains a challenge, boards and executives are committing further capital to AI initiatives in 2026.
- Retail exemplifies AI’s operational future. The move toward agentic AI in commerce shows that AI will increasingly execute tasks, not just support decision-making.
Stay Ahead with the AI Insiders Newsletter
Join more than 55,000 AI executives and innovators for exclusive insights, strategies, and trends shaping the future of AI leadership. Subscribe to the AI Insiders Newsletter.
