Megatrends 2026
B · Useful, limited EY's annual foresight report is widely circulated, but it is scenario writing built mostly on secondary and vendor statistics, with little original data beyond figures borrowed from EY's own workforce surveys.
Summary based on the full text·Original: about 2 hours to read
In short
EY's "Futures Reimagined: Megatrends 2026 and beyond" (April 2026) is a 78-page foresight report introduced by Hanne Jesca Bax, EY Global Vice Chair. It describes a "NAVI" operating environment (nonlinear, accelerated, volatile, interconnected) and sets out eight scenario-based megatrends, from the "superfluid enterprise" run by agentic AI, smart contracts and digital twins, to talent, trust, migration, resources and "capitalism rebalanced". Its main claim is that AI value depends on redesigning work and investing in people, and that organizations should plan for several futures through "no-regret moves".
Key numbers
- 1% to 35%executives surprised by political risk events 'most or all of the time', 2021 vs 2025 (EY-Parthenon)
- 88% vs 22%workers using AI at work in 2025 vs 2023 (EY Work Reimagined 2025)
- 14 vs 3 hoursweekly time saved by employees with 1.5+ hours of AI training per week vs under 20 minutes
- 47% vs 15%organizations prioritising AI for growth vs those investing adequately in workforce preparation
As reported by the source.
English·PDF·opens ey.com
What it reports
- Executives surprised by political risk events "most or all of the time" rose from 1% in 2021 to 35% in 2025 (EY-Parthenon Geostrategy in Practice).
- Cited friction costs: US$15,000 per employee per year; disengagement costs the global economy US$8.8t, about 9% of GDP; data silos cost 20%-30% of revenue.
- Three "horizons" toward a superfluid enterprise; Horizon 3 assumes 90%+ autonomous operations and is described as "mostly theoretical today".
- Three-quarters of technology leaders cite governance as their main concern with autonomous systems, yet 18% have comprehensive AI governance councils.
- EY Work Reimagined 2025: 88% of workers use AI at work vs 22% in 2023, mostly for shallow task-level help.
- Daily AI users: 83% expect their skills to stay relevant in three years, vs 67% of occasional users. Employees with 1.5+ hours of weekly AI training save 14 hours a week vs 3 hours for those with under 20 minutes.
- 47% of organizations prioritise AI for growth; 15% invest adequately in workforce preparation.
- Talent framed as a portfolio of human and AI "capability assets", with "Talent Debt" as the gap between capabilities held and needed.
How they got it
The report applies EY's Futures Reimagined framework: four primary forces (technology, demographics, sustainability, geopolitics) intersect to form megatrends, each explored through scenarios rated possible, plausible or probable. Evidence is a mix of EY surveys (Work Reimagined 2025, Geostrategy in Practice), third-party statistics and expert quotes. There is no single new dataset or stated sample for the megatrend analysis.
Limits
- Many headline numbers are secondary or vendor-sourced (for example, a claim that CrewAI is used by 60% of Fortune 500 companies, and 2x-3x ROI from AI automation) and are not independently tested.
- Scenario likelihoods are asserted, not modelled.
- EY sells the transformation, governance and talent services the actions point to.
Why it matters for companies
The most usable content is the EY survey data on training: time saved rises sharply with structured AI training, which supports funding learning time rather than only licences. The 47% vs 15% gap restates a common pattern of buying technology ahead of preparing people. The governance figure (18% with full councils) is a benchmark for boards. The superfluid enterprise is best read as a strategy prompt, not a forecast.
Summary based on the full text. Read the original for the full argument and data.Open PDF on ey.com