Pulse of Change
B · Useful, limited A large two-sided Accenture survey (3,000 C-suite leaders and 3,000 employees) published as a headline web summary without question-level detail, from a firm that sells AI transformation services.
Summary based on the full text·Original: about 10 minutes to read
In short
Accenture's July 2026 "Pulse of Change" is the latest wave of a recurring survey of executives and employees at organisations with revenue above $500 million. Its main finding is a gap between spending and results: 82% of leaders are raising AI investment, while the share reporting widespread, sustained value from AI fell from 32% to 23% within the year. Employees report productivity and satisfaction gains, and the skills gap is located in middle management.
Key numbers
- 23%C-suite leaders reporting widespread, sustained business value from AI, down from 32% earlier in 2026
- 82%C-suite leaders increasing AI investment
- 61%employees who now turn to AI before a colleague
- 78% vs 57%leaders expecting roles to change in 12 months vs employees saying their roles already changed
As reported by the source.
English·Web page·opens accenture.com
What it reports
- Leaders feel less prepared to manage disruption than earlier in 2026, down seven percentage points on average.
- 73% of leaders anticipate a surge in inflation and 70% expect slower global growth; 49% plan to diversify supply chains.
- 52% would keep investing in AI if a bubble burst, while only 10% believe a significant bubble exists.
- 82% are increasing AI investment; 55% are confident agentic AI will deliver board-reportable outcomes within a year; 23% report widespread, sustained value, down from 32%.
- 49% of companies are piloting or deploying AI agents; 7 in 10 leaders say agentic AI's effect on employee productivity exceeded expectations.
- 81% of employees say AI tools raised their productivity and 71% say job satisfaction increased; 61% turn to AI before a colleague.
- 78% of leaders expect roles to change within 12 months; 57% of employees say theirs already have. 41% of leaders and 34% of employees think their organisation is very prepared for talent disruption.
- Leaders and employees both (36%) name middle management as the largest AI skills gap; 73% of leaders expect new AI-focused entry-level roles within two years and 52% expect to hire more entry-level talent because of AI.
How they got it
Two global surveys run between April and June 2026: 3,000 C-suite leaders and 3,000 non-C-suite employees, both from organisations with annual revenue above $500 million, across 19 industries and 20 countries. The page lists roles, countries and industries but not question wording for most figures or margins of error.
Limits
- The web summary reports headline percentages only; the underlying questionnaire and splits by country or industry are not shown.
- Productivity and satisfaction are self-reported, with no measured output.
- Accenture sells the "work redesign and workforce transformation" it recommends.
Why it matters for companies
The falling share reporting sustained value, from 32% to 23% in a few months, is a useful benchmark for boards asking why AI spend is not visible in results. The middle-management skills gap and the finding that most employees ask AI before a colleague both point to the same place: team leads are where workflow redesign stalls and where informal knowledge sharing is changing. The rise in expected entry-level hiring runs against the common assumption that AI removes junior roles, and is worth testing against a company's own hiring plans.
Summary based on the full text. Read the original for the full argument and data.Read the original on accenture.com