Nine in ten surveyed organisations use AI. 37% see an effect on profit.

The adoption paradox

Artificial intelligence has moved from experiment to everyday tool faster than most organisations can measure what it changes. In a global survey published in August 2026, about nine in ten organisations report regular AI use in at least one function. Only 44% report scaling it across the enterprise, and 37% attribute any EBIT effect to AI at all (McKinsey, Aug 2026). Spending keeps rising regardless: Gartner forecasts worldwide AI spending of US$2.67 trillion in 2026 (Gartner, Sep 2026).

That gap between use and proof is the starting point of Put AI to Work: The Good AI Prism Market Study 2026/27, published by ETHORITY as a Global market study edition and a Germany & United States Focus edition, each in English and German.

Two measures, kept apart

Surveys and official statistics describe different things. Official statistics are soberer: in the EU, one firm in five with ten or more staff uses AI (Eurostat 2025). The study keeps these measures apart and cites each external figure with its own source, sample and method; the press fact sheet sets them side by side. For reporting this matters: "nine in ten use AI" and "one in five uses AI" can both be correct, because they count different organisations in different ways.

The size gap and the know-how barrier

In every national study compared, large firms adopt AI 1.6 to 4.3 times as often as small ones. The barrier named most often is know-how: 71% of EU firms that considered AI name lack of expertise (Eurostat 2025). For the Mittelstand and for small firms in every economy, the study reads this as the first item on the agenda: the first investment is in the ability to choose well. Sector detail follows in the Good AI Prism sector briefs.

Rules arrive as dates

Regulation now comes with a calendar. US state rules on automated decisions apply from 1 January 2027. EU duties for listed high-risk uses apply from 2 December 2027. The study maps these dates by jurisdiction, so that leaders can design pilots today that still hold when they scale.

Why buyers struggle to compare

Buyers can rarely compare AI offerings on facts. Providers document hosting options, data use and pricing unevenly; prices for customer-service AI alone come in at least seven different billing units. The Good AI Prism records what each provider documents on its own pages, with a dated source, so that a comparison starts from evidence.

The map behind the study

The Good AI Prism is a sourced map of the AI market with 998 market entries, including 961 AI offerings, organised across 24 topic areas, 8 data types and 6 technology layers. The study records the provider information reviewed on 19 and 20 October 2026. Later updates read the same sources again and record what changed. Providers can submit corrections at the study page; confirmed corrections are recorded, with their date, in the following update.

The Prism has a history: in 1997 Sten Franke started media-time.de, a web directory for the German web, followed by 1a-Suchmaschinen.de, a commercial SEO service. He created the German Social Media Prisma, first published by ethority in September 2009, to make a fragmented social web visible in one picture. The Good AI Prism applies the same idea to AI: make a fast-moving market visible, so that organisations can see the options, the evidence behind them and what is still open before they decide. The full record is on the Press & legacy page.

What the study recommends for 2027

The study turns the evidence into an agenda with three phases and two gates: a measured baseline before any pilot, a supported pilot under a written charter, and scale only where the agreed result on accepted outcomes is met. It proposes cost per accepted outcome as one measure that makes AI options comparable, and closes with worksheets and next steps for founders, the Mittelstand, large enterprises, the public sector, boards and AI providers.

"An AI decision should say what we expect to improve, what evidence supports the choice and who is accountable for the result. That is where putting AI to work begins." Sten Franke, Founder & CEO · AI Transformation Architect, ETHORITY

Editions, exhibits and citation

The study appears as a Global edition (41 pages) and a Germany & United States Focus edition (33 pages), each in English and German, with the Good AI Prism as a large-format A3 companion. Exhibits may be quoted with source attribution. Please cite: ETHORITY (2026), Put AI to Work: The Good AI Prism Market Study 2026/27.

The press kit holds the release, the fact sheet, the speaker profile and the conference kit in English and German, together with the Good AI Prism artwork, the study covers and portraits of Sten Franke. Background on ETHORITY and its founder is in our company history.