$100B
The size of the opportunity in automating the coordination work inside businesses.
Bain measured all the in-between work - chasing follow-ups, moving information between your CRM, inbox, and calendar, keeping jobs on track. No single piece of software owns it, so a person has always had to. Less than $6B of it has been automated so far.
What it means for youAdd up the hours you or your office staff spend just moving information from one place to another. That is the work AI can now run - and almost nobody has handed it off yet.
Source: Bain & Company, 2026
18%
Of companies can actually tell what their AI is worth. Around 40% have no idea.
Thomson Reuters surveyed professional services firms. Only 18% track what their AI returns in dollars - and roughly 40% don't know if anyone is measuring it at all. The tools got bought. The results went unwatched.
What it means for youIf you've tried AI and can't say what it earned you, you're in the majority. The fix isn't another tool - it's someone accountable for the number.
Source: Thomson Reuters, 2026
90%
Of CEOs now expect their AI to show a measurable return, not just look impressive.
BCG asked CEOs directly. Nine in ten expect a measurable return from AI this year, and they're shifting 30%+ of their AI budgets to agents that do work - not chatbots that talk about it.
What it means for youThe businesses you compete with are funding AI that has to pay for itself. The same bar should apply to yours - every AI dollar traced to a result you can see.
Source: BCG AI Radar, 2026