Companies deploying AI deeply are seeing six times the ROI of those still stuck in pilots, but only 17% of organizations have unlocked that level of return so far, according to Zip’s “State of AI in Spend 2026” report.
“Builders” deploy AI deeply and see real, measurable returns, while “Bystanders” have invested little into pilots and are not seeing anything for it.
“The Builders are showing everyone else the way,” says Nick Heinzmann, head of research at Zip. “Their edge isn’t bigger budgets, it's treating AI as a team-wide transformation instead of another tool. That’s worth 6 times the ROI and closing that gap is within reach for other companies willing to go deeper.”
Key takeaways:
· Organizations deploying AI widely are 6 times more likely to report clear ROI than those still piloting or exploring (39% vs. 6.5%).
· Organizations with 50,000 or more employees are the most likely to deploy AI widely (33%) and the least likely to show clear ROI (11%).
· 71% of Builders are very confident in their ability to put AI to work over the next 2-3 years, compared with just 11% of Bystanders.
· 55% of Builders run AI across most or all of their processes today (vs. just 4% of everyone else), and 79% expect deep transformation within five years (vs. 22% of everyone else).
· Organizations deploying AI widely are 6 times more likely to report clear ROI than those still piloting or exploring (39% vs. 6.5%).
· 62% of leaders say they use AI multiple times a day.
· 57% of respondents have used AI tools their employer hasn’t sanctioned, and 64% of IT respondents admit to it, the highest of any function surveyed. Counting those who’ve considered it, 68% are using or want to use unapproved AI.
· 33% expect the team managing third-party spend to shrink in five years, against 26% who expect it to grow. Nearly half of organizations have already cut or consolidated roles because AI can do the work (29%) or plan to (19%).
· 89% say AI is a net productivity gain even after accounting for time spent correcting its mistakes. But 13% of managers report this mixed effect vs. 6% of executives.
· 84% of Builders use AI daily in their own work, and 71% are confident in deploying it further, compared with 11% of Bystanders.
· With 63% of respondents expecting procurement’s influence to grow over the next 3-5 years, a figure that jumps to 85% among Builders.
