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Enterprise artificial intelligence is evolving from orchestrating processes to reshaping businesses. Our research at the Infosys Knowledge Institute highlights AI’s shift beyond optimization to reinventing business models and interactions.

The View from Infosys

Enterprise AI isn’t just evolving — it’s staging a coup in the executive suite. The days of AI as the dutiful assistant, quietly orchestrating data in the background, are over. Today’s enterprise AI systems demonstrate value and demand a seat at the strategy table. Businesses that don’t recognize this power shift risk irrelevance.

Enterprises are investing in agentic AI systems, which act autonomously and handle complex, multistep tasks. Early use cases focus on increased productivity and accelerated workflows. However, advanced capabilities will eventually extend to strategic decision-making typically reserved for top executives.

Our research on enterprise AI readiness warns that 30% of executives struggle in risk-averse environments that lack a ‘burning platform’ priority. Only 2% of businesses are fully AI-ready across all critical dimensions: strategy, technology, governance, data, and talent.

Responsible AI is an essential component and well-designed AI guardrails increase, not impede speed and agility. However, in their absence ethical lapses divert valuable resources to damage control rather than improving the core business.

Room for Disagreement

Some industry analysts – even business leaders – argue this transformation is overhyped. They point to the significant gap between AI’s theoretical capabilities and practical implementation. Many organizations still struggle with basic data governance and integration challenges that prevent even ‘orchestrator’ AI from functioning effectively. The leap to ‘innovator’ may be premature when foundational elements remain unsolved.

The View from the Trenches

For businesses already deploying AI at scale, the transition is more pragmatic. According to our research, 19% of AI use cases now fully deliver on business goals, while another 32% partially meet their goals.

Data indicates that IT and marketing use cases are delivering results. The Infosys CMO Radar report found that marketing leaders investing in multiple enterprise AI initiatives are significantly more likely to generate value by leveraging advanced technology, larger datasets, and better access to experts.

Economic Implications

This AI metamorphosis is already reshaping global markets and corporate valuations. Companies using AI for innovation are realizing productivity gains of 30%-40% in knowledge work functions. AI-first enterprises command premium valuations, with price-to-earnings ratios 25% higher than industry peers still treating AI as merely operational.

Labor markets are undergoing massive shifts as AI moves beyond automation to innovation. The World Economic Forum estimates that while AI may displace 85 million jobs by 2026, 97 million new roles will emerge. This transition creates wage premiums for workers who can effectively collaborate with AI systems, while simultaneously accelerating wage stagnation for roles that AI can augment or replace.

Our research shows that enterprise AI in routine and white-collar roles are most viable and will displace workers in customer service, data entry, legal review, and even software development. Not everyone can or will be reskilled to new work. Skills mismatch may widen the gap between high-tech roles and traditional labor, exacerbating inequality and public hostility.

For senior leaders, the economics of AI deployment have fundamentally changed. AI investment ROI has shortened dramatically, with payback periods averaging 14 months in 2025 versus 36 months in 2022. This acceleration is driving capital reallocation, with AI-related spending in 2025 forecast to consume 28% of enterprise technology budgets, up from 11% two years ago.

Quotable

“AI is starting to push the boundaries of what is possible — not just for technology but for the people interacting with it. We can hardly imagine where this all leads, but our decisions now will determine whether we end up in a place that helps more of us than it harms.”

—Rafee Tarafdar, Chief Technology Officer, Infosys

Notable

Enterprise AI’s shift toward innovator status redefines how organizations develop and deploy talent. Businesses seeing the greatest returns invest heavily in both technology and talent transformation.

As enterprise AI advances, the question for leaders isn’t whether to adapt, but how quickly. For nations, AI is the newest arms race, shaping military, economic, and technological power.

Thriving companies no longer see AI as just a tool but as a fundamental capability — the central nervous system connecting strategy, operations, and customer experience in a continuous feedback loop of learning and adaptation.