There is enormous disruption in the current business environment, and much of it centers on artificial intelligence (AI):
- Countries and regions are forming AI islands of policy.
- Corporations are realigning middle management and reskilling the workforce.
- Data has never been more essential or more valuable.
Entering 2026, AI continues to reshape industries; leaders are wondering what to do as they embrace and grapple with what’s next. Enterprises and individuals must find their fit in the emerging mix of uncertainty, hype and productive reality.
As we begin a new year, there are five AI trends shaping C-suite conversations. Each trend represents enormous business opportunities and challenges for companies, governments and individuals.
Data is both the lifeblood and the bottleneck
There is no AI without data, and it’s evident that AI-ready data is both the lifeblood and the bottleneck with business operations. Our recent EY Pulse Survey showed 83% of business leaders say their AI adoption is slowed by their data infrastructure.
Data is essential to AI, but how much is real data and how much is synthetic? Do companies have access to their critical data, and what are they doing to maximize their data for greatest value? Access matters as much as quality, and if a company can’t provide access to its AI-ready data, it will quickly lose the competitive edge.
Smart companies are trying to master data management with automation through AI, and it can certainly be done, but you have to get your data right. Some industries, such as financial services, have made significant investments in data for decades. They are now equipped to take advantage of next-generation technologies involved with AI.
Rise of the self-driving enterprise (powered by agents and physical AI)
This is where agentic AI gains a foothold in business operations and where the workforce must adapt to working with digital colleagues. It’s important to emphasize that humans set the vision and AI agents (and robots) will execute their work with human oversight.
Success in this environment means onboarding, training, auditing and retiring agents just like employees with clear policies to ensure ethics and compliance. Physical AI gains quantum minds and robotic bodies, and their presence brings a new look and feel to industries ranging from advanced manufacturing to healthcare, automotive to energy and finance to telecommunications.
AI isn’t borderless anymore
Sovereign AI is the “sleeping giant” impacting multinational businesses and government organizations. Countries or regions have established distinct “AI islands” of rules and policies that multinational companies must navigate in order to conduct business in good faith.
Gartner predicts that half of multinational organizations will have digital sovereignty strategies in place by 2029, whereas only 10% do today. Early adopters of sovereign AI gain a strategic leadership edge in privacy-sensitive markets.
Data infrastructure and models are tied to geography, so there are no one-size-fits-all solutions that will work in a global environment. As AI grows and develops, sovereign AI strategy and execution become critical to business success.
Work reimagined: Adaptability becomes the new job security
Initial concerns about AI focused on how it impacts jobs. Of primary importance was the fear that AI would somehow replace entire industries and send employees packing in favor of more efficient digital alternatives. While it is true that some jobs and industries are in a state of flux, AI is part of a reimagining of the workforce. Jobs are changing faster than ever and the ability to adapt to new circumstances and roles in an AI-charged environment becomes the new job security.
Massive upskilling is required, and those companies and governments who don’t invest in reskilling will fall behind. There is hope – history shows technology has always created positive job growth in the long run – but the types of jobs will look very different than today, and disruption will happen faster this time.
As individuals embrace AI for common tasks in their personal lives, it is wise to level up knowledge of AI as it relates to career growth and opportunity. Better to understand the future than worry about it.
Trust is the new currency
An explosion of AI deepfakes has flooded social media and news reports in recent years, which is creating trust issues for many businesses and individuals. Credibility differentiates in a world of deepfakes, and trust will become the new currency in 2026.
Business leaders are learning they must embed responsible AI into everything they do now – into the data and the business models, the algorithms, and how employees are trained with AI. The EY Responsible AI Survey from October shows companies that have embedded responsible AI are seeing less compliance risk, more revenue and innovation as the guardrails enable companies to experiment safely and innovate with AI.
The forecast is bold and the pace of change will only increase from here. Your AI strategy must match this boldness if your organization is going to thrive as we enter the next frontier.
The opinions expressed in Fortune.com commentary pieces are solely the views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of Fortune.
