Enterprise AI Is Stalling: 46% of Initiatives Fall Short Despite Rising Investment

New study of 800 organizations by Coastal & Oxford Economics finds the biggest barrier to AI success is not technology but how it’s operated

Palm Coast, FL, May 11, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Despite a surge in enterprise AI investment, nearly half of organizations say their initiatives are falling short, according to a new report released today by Coastal, a leading Salesforce and Snowflake consultancy.

Based on a survey of 800 U.S. business and technology leaders conducted in partnership with Oxford Economics, Coastal’s 2026 AI Operations Report reveals a growing disconnect between AI investment and real-world outcomes. While 74% of organizations are increasing AI investment, 46% report that their initiatives have not met expectations, and only a small minority say AI is delivering measurable business value.

“Enterprise AI has reached a turning point,” said Eric Berridge, CEO of Coastal. “Over the past two years, the focus has been on proving that AI can work. Now the challenge is whether organizations can actually operate it at scale. Most teams have learned how to launch AI, but far fewer have built the capacity to run it. That’s where we’re seeing programs stall – in the gap between investment and impact, where data, adoption, ownership, and strategy all have to come together.”

The findings point to a consistent pattern across industries: organizations believe AI makes them more competitive and are expanding budgets, but lack the operational foundation to run AI for impact. As AI spreads across more use cases, the work required to keep it performing – managing data, monitoring cost and outputs, driving adoption, and more – quickly outpaces teams, creating strain that limits performance and makes it difficult to translate AI investment into sustained business impact.

Key findings from the report:

AI investment is accelerating, but results are lagging
- While 84% of leaders say AI is making their organization more competitive, nearly half report that outcomes have fallen short of expectations, underscoring a gap between investment and impact.

Data challenges persist well beyond launch
- 70% of organizations report data access or quality issues during AI setup, and 73% encounter the same problems while running AI in production.

Employees are ready for AI, but AI isn’t ready for them
- While 77% of organizations say employees are eager to use AI, 73% still struggle with adoption due to lack of trust, poor workflow fit, or unclear outputs.

AI is only as strategic as the problem it’s solving
- Just 26% of organizations begin AI initiatives with a clearly defined business problem.

Ownership gaps are limiting scale
- Only one in six organizations has a dedicated AI or transformation team.

The report concludes that enterprise AI is entering a new phase; one where success depends less on launching new capabilities and more on building the operational foundation to sustain them.

“AI doesn’t behave like a system you deploy and move on from, and most teams haven’t planned for that,” Berridge added. “The organizations getting results are the ones treating AI as an ongoing operating function – with clear ownership, defined roadmaps, and continuous management built in from the start.”

Across the research, the organizations seeing results are not distinguished by the technology they use, but by how they operate it. They treat data as a continuous requirement; design AI for how people actually work; define the problem before selecting the solution; and assign clear ownership for performance in production.

The AI Operations Report 2026 was developed by Coastal in partnership with Oxford Economics, based on a survey of 800 U.S. business and technology leaders across industries. All respondents have at least one AI initiative actively in production, defined as organizational deployments designed to drive business outcomes. The findings reflect enterprise-level AI programs across a range of industries, functions, and operating environments, and are intended to capture the realities of running AI in production at scale.

The full AI Operations Report 2026 is available for download here.

About Coastal
Coastal^® is a top-rated Salesforce and Snowflake consultancy helping organizations turn data and AI investments into measurable, lasting business impact. Trusted by more than 1,700 customers across industries, Coastal delivers the strategic clarity, technical depth, and hands-on execution that complex, multi-cloud initiatives demand – and the accountability to make sure results stick long after go-live.

Named a Leader by independent analyst firm ISG for five consecutive years – out of more than 3,000 Salesforce partners worldwide – and carrying a 5/5 customer satisfaction rating across 500+ Salesforce AppExchange reviews, Coastal is widely recognized as one of the most trusted names in the Salesforce ecosystem. The firm's approach combines enterprise-grade capability with the speed and flexibility that transforming organizations need, helping clients prioritize what matters most, build it right, and keep it generating value as their business evolves.

Now part of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Coastal customers can benefit from the global scale, resources, and IT services of a world-class firm. Learn more at coastal.us.

Attachments

Eddie Tabakman
Coastal
+1-604-306-0875
news@coastalcloud.us

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