Future of Business 2026: AI-Driven Decision Making and Quantum Collaboration

The business world is about to get a whole lot more interesting.

According to a comprehensive new report from the IBM Institute for Business Value, enterprise leaders are entering 2026 with a fascinating cocktail of emotions: uncertainty about the global economy, confidence in their own organizations, and an urgent need to move faster on artificial intelligence and quantum computing. The findings paint a picture of a business landscape that’s simultaneously volatile and full of opportunity.

IBM surveyed over 1,000 C-suite executives and 8,500 employees and consumers to understand what’s coming next. What they discovered might surprise you. While only about a third of executives feel optimistic about the global economy, more than four in five are confident about their own organization’s performance in the year ahead. That’s quite the disconnect and it reveals something important about how leaders are thinking right now.

The Paradox of Progress

Here’s the thing about progress: it’s messy. Every breakthrough solves yesterday’s problems while creating new ones we don’t yet understand. And right now, organizations are moving at the speed of generative AI and agentic AI. Soon, they’ll be moving at the speed of quantum computing. Seeking stable ground in this environment? That’s basically futile.

Instead, smart leaders are looking for the cracks. The fissures in existing markets are where new openings will emerge. The secret to capturing these opportunities isn’t having a perfect forecast it’s developing what IBM calls “an appetite for ambiguity.”

Despite all the uncertainty swirling around, executives are making bold moves. A remarkable 95% say they must increasingly make fast decisions in the face of geopolitical risk. Even more impressive? 96% say the highest-stakes decisions they made last year turned out to be the right ones. That’s either incredible confidence or selective memory probably a bit of both.

Trend One: Agentic AI Becomes a Strategic Weapon

Agentic AI is emerging as one of the main tools leaders expect to wield in 2026. Most executives say AI agents are already helping them make better decisions. But here’s where it gets interesting: executives who say adaptive AI agents fuel better, faster decision-making are more than twice as likely to see opportunity in volatility.

Think about that for a second. The same chaos that’s making some leaders nervous is creating opportunities for others and the difference is AI agents.

But agentic AI won’t succeed in a vacuum. For these intelligent systems to deliver on their promise, organizations need to get their data architecture right. We’re talking about systems that support near real-time insight, not periodic reporting. AI agents need access to core systems like ERP, CRM, and supply chain platforms. Without that access, they’re basically flying blind.

The shift is happening fast. Agentic AI is moving from experimental to operational. Leaders now face a critical question: which decisions can be delegated to AI agents, which require human review, and which must remain human-led? Getting that balance right will separate the winners from the also-rans.

A staggering 90% of executives say they’ll lose their edge if their organization can’t operate in real time. That’s not hyperbole that’s the new reality of business.

Trend Two: Employees Actually Want More AI

Here’s something that might shock you: workers aren’t afraid of AI. In fact, they want more of it.

At least twice as many workers across all age groups say they would embrace rather than resist greater use of AI by their employers in 2026. For many employees, AI-powered tools aren’t the enemy. They’re an escape hatch from the mundane parts of their jobs.

The numbers tell a compelling story. 61% of employees say AI makes their job less mundane and more strategic. When employees use AI whether they’re AI native or playing catch-up it releases them from monotony and gives them more time to do high-value work. That’s a win-win scenario.

Most employees say the pace of technology change in their roles is sustainable. They’re confident about keeping up with new tools. This aligns with research by KPMG that shows similar patterns of AI acceptance in the workplace.

But here’s the kicker: 48% of employees say they’d be comfortable being managed by an AI agent. Let that sink in. Nearly half the workforce is ready to report to a machine at least for some tasks.

The implications for leadership are massive. Executives expect a significant re-skilling requirement from their employees. Leaders should anticipate that at least half their workforce will need some form of re-skilling by the end of 2026, thanks to AI automation. Other surveys back this up, noting that the skills needed most are problem-solving, creativity, and innovation.

And here’s something that should worry HR departments: employees say they’re willing to change employers to access better training opportunities. Skills development now plays a direct role in reducing employee churn. Companies that don’t invest in training their people will lose them to competitors who do.

Trend Three: Customers Will Hold Your Data Policies to Account

Consumer trust in a brand’s use of AI will define the success of new products and services in 2026. Customers are willing to tolerate occasional errors AI doesn’t have to be perfect. In fact, 56% of consumers say they’re so excited about cutting-edge, AI-enabled services that they’d accept flaws.

But here’s what they won’t tolerate: opacity.

Customers want explanations of how their data is used. They want to know when AI is involved in their interactions. And they want simple ways to opt in or out. Studies by Deloitte and KPMG reinforce this picture of an informed, demanding consumer base.

The stakes are high. Two-thirds of consumers would switch brands if a company intentionally concealed AI’s involvement in their experience. That’s not a small number that’s a potential exodus.

What makes consumers most comfortable engaging with a brand’s AI? Easy-to-understand explanations of how AI is using their data, the ability to remove their data, details on how AI applications will improve their experience, and the ability to opt-in to AI rather than opt-out.

The implications for leaders are clear: treat transparency as a product feature, not an afterthought. Select models that support explainability. Make it easy for customers to understand what’s happening with their data. Do these things, and you’ll build trust. Ignore them, and you’ll watch customers walk away.

Trend Four: AI Sovereignty Moves to Center Stage

AI sovereignty an organization’s ability to control and govern its AI systems, data, and infrastructure at all times has moved to the center of resilience planning. Almost all executives surveyed (93%) said they will factor AI sovereignty into their 2026 strategy.

This isn’t just corporate paranoia. It’s a response to real concerns about data residency and cloud jurisdiction. Leaders are rethinking where models run and where data lives. Studies from UK and European IT leaders show rising concern about over-reliance on foreign read: US-based cloud services.

Advisory firm Accenture urges leaders to develop sovereign AI strategies that prioritize control, transparency, and choice. The message is clear: organizations need portable AI platforms, robust monitoring for data compliance, and a heavy emphasis on the physical location of data.

AI resilience is ultimately about continuity and transparency. It requires ensuring the organization can adapt and operate openly, even when the global technological and geopolitical landscapes shift. In an era of increasing nationalism and data localization requirements, this isn’t optional it’s essential.

The trend toward AI sovereignty reflects a broader shift in how organizations think about risk. It’s no longer enough to have the best AI models. You need to control where they run, how they access data, and who has jurisdiction over them. That’s a fundamental change in the architecture of enterprise AI.

Trend Five: Quantum Computing Demands Collaboration

Quantum computing is moving from science fiction to business reality. IBM’s research suggests that early quantum advantage is likely in targeted domains such as optimization and materials science. Recent research indicates that quantum advantage the point at which a quantum computer can provide a solution to a problem with demonstrable improvement over any classical method is likely to emerge by the end of 2026.

But here’s the catch: at scale, quantum workloads demand resources no single organization can realistically maintain alone. It takes more computational muscle, richer datasets, and deeper pools of expertise. In short, it takes an ecosystem or maybe a few.

Quantum-ready organizations are three times more likely to belong to multiple ecosystems than the least ready organizations. That’s a striking statistic. It suggests that success in the quantum era won’t come from going it alone. It will come from strategic partnerships and collaborative innovation.

The report urges organizations to identify a small number of high-impact quantum uses in the enterprise and join ecosystems early. “Identify big bets to win with emerging technologies, including quantum, and partner on innovation to share costs,” the report states.

This is a fundamentally different approach to technology adoption. Instead of building everything in-house, organizations need to think about how they can participate in broader ecosystems. They need to share costs, share expertise, and share risks. For many traditional enterprises, that’s a significant cultural shift.

The Bottom Line

The business landscape of 2026 will be defined by speed, uncertainty, and opportunity. Organizations that can embrace ambiguity, invest in their people, build trust with customers, control their AI infrastructure, and collaborate on quantum computing will thrive. Those that can’t will struggle.

The good news? Both executives and employees are optimistic. They see the opportunities ahead. They’re ready to move fast and make bold decisions. And they’re willing to embrace new technologies that can help them succeed.

The challenge is execution. Having the right strategy is one thing. Implementing it in a rapidly changing environment is another. Leaders need to make fast decisions, but they also need to make the right decisions. They need to move quickly, but they also need to bring their people along for the journey.

As IBM’s research makes clear, progress is a double-edged sword. It solves yesterday’s problems and creates new ones we don’t yet understand. The faster an organization transforms, the more unknowns multiply. But that’s not a reason to slow down it’s a reason to get better at navigating uncertainty.

The organizations that succeed in 2026 will be those that can bend without breaking. They’ll be the ones that see cracks in the market as opportunities, not threats. They’ll be the ones that empower their employees with AI, build trust with their customers through transparency, control their AI infrastructure, and collaborate on quantum computing.

The future is uncertain. But for those willing to embrace that uncertainty, it’s also full of possibility.