DeepL leaders’ AI predictions for 2026

2025 was the year when organizations got serious about searching for AI applications that could deliver real value. In 2026, they will leverage what they’ve learned to drive real transformation. Business leaders are discovering the power and potential of agentic AI, and with it the possibilities for transforming workflows and business processes, reimagining what’s possible and making AI a primary engine of growth.

To inform our predictions for where AI is headed in 2026, DeepL conducted in-depth research with over 5,000 senior business leaders from across the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany and Japan. One quarter of those leaders say that agentic AI is already driving major transformation in their businesses. A further 44% expect it to do so in 2026. Underscoring the scale of the transformation, only 7% of business leaders believe that AI agents will not change their operations.

In their ability to orchestrate workflows and help organizations get more from AI and other tech tools, agentic AI is growing leaders’ confidence in their ability to drive transformation, and secure ROI from their efforts. In all, 67% of respondents report rising ROI from their AI initiatives this year, and more than half (52%) expect AI to contribute more to company growth than any other technology next year.

From the frontline of agentic AI development, here are DeepL’s leaders’ predictions for how AI will transform businesses and unlock human potential in 2026.

AI brings tools together to unlock human potential at scale

“2025 was the year AI went from proof of concept to application. In 2026, I believe we’ll go even further with companies fully automating certain business functions thanks to AI. With tools being less fragmented and agentic AI able to take over cumbersome functions, we’ll be unburdened of previously time-consuming tasks. This reduction in repetitive work will make us able to focus on what we humans truly excel at: solving complex problems with creativity and grit.

From a European perspective, technological sovereignty is about more than where data resides. It’s owning the tech know-how and the models, and creating businesses that iterate on it. We need 2026 to be the year that AI technology is empowered to grow in the region, with better access to AI infrastructure, reform in stock option rules for employees and investment into the technology. We also need to be bolder in our self-belief regionally. We can and we will be able compete in AI.”

Agentic AI becomes an early majority technology

“2026 will undoubtedly be the year of the agent. Public awareness of what agents can do caught up in 2025, but enterprise adoption at scale will happen in the New Year. On the technology adoption curve, we will see the significant shift from innovators to the early majority.

From conversations with our customers, we know organizations will increasingly rely on virtual co-workers to streamline operations and enhance decision-making processes. We’ll also see a shift in how they choose AI solutions. There will be a more collaborative approach, with each team selecting the tools that are most suited to their requirements, and testing solutions for themselves. Widespread integration will lead to more efficient workflows, enabling teams to focus on strategic initiatives and complex topics rather than routine tasks. 

I anticipate a ripple effect, with early adopters demonstrating value and encouraging broader acceptance. It’s the start of an era in which agentic AI will play a crucial role in driving innovation and improving overall business outcomes.”

AI agents will usher in the next era of marketing

“This coming year will mark a historic inflection point. In 2026, AI agents will move on from merely augmenting work and start re-engineering it. For marketers, this unlocks incredible potential. For the first time ever, we have the ability to deliver fine-tuned, personalized marketing at scale. That means greater relevance and ultimately, better marketing.

The idea of personalizing marketing messages is nothing new, but there have always been limitations. Identifying unique customer segments is hard, delivering personalized messages takes time and, at the end of the day, it’s pretty easy to hit the send button and launch 50,000 emails at an audience and hope something sticks, even though even a successful campaign involves 85% of people ignoring it.

AI agents clearly have the potential to overcome all of these barriers. They can do the hard work to define and identify more granular segments, develop better messaging for these “nano-segments” and deliver messages for them across the right channels. To take advantage, we’ll need to follow the lead of that great marketing guru Yoda and, “unlearn what we have learned” in terms of high-scale marketing tactics. It’s a chance to get back to the heart of great marketing: treating customers as people, reaching them where they are at and talking with them the same way you would an old friend.”

AI becomes table stakes for the legal sector

“A recent DeepL study of US legal professionals found that 77% of legal organizations have increased their AI spend in the past year. I believe that in 2026, this rapid adoption will accelerate further, and we’ll see a shift in focus. It’s no longer a question of whether a firm or legal team uses AI, but of how seamlessly and securely it integrates it into core workflows. 

AI-powered features will become embedded within discovery platforms, contract management systems, and legal research tools. AI will become increasingly trusted for routine tasks, taking on contract drafting and review, allowing human effort to focus on oversight and strategic judgment. This will continue to reshape how legal work is priced. Firms will need to move away from traditional hourly billing rates, and towards task and outcome-based pricing models. 

The legal profession will demand tools that provide audit trails, demonstrate transparent reasoning (explainability), and maintain strict data protection, privacy and security standards. However, the successful legal professional of 2026 will be defined by their ability to harness AI to deliver demonstrably better, faster, and more cost-effective outcomes. Using AI will no longer be optional for law firms if they want to keep up with client demand.

The big shift from AI potential to AI delivery

Over the past year, we’ve seen enormous excitement around what AI could do. The next twelve months will be about what it does. 2026 will be the year AI moves from failed proofs of concept and prototypes to actually powering products that reimagine entire industries, and make it into the real workflows of teams.

Companies are no longer experimenting on the sidelines. They’re operationalizing. Our research with global business leaders proves this point. More than half expect AI to contribute more to company growth than any other technology in 2026. This is a clear sign that AI is maturing into infrastructure, not just an idea of innovation.

As AI agents and language technologies become embedded in everyday products, we’ll see entire workflows rebuilt around them. Those workflows will be simpler, faster, and more human. The result? A shift from one-off use cases to real, sustained transformation across industries.

Agentic will be AI’s scaling superpower

After a cycle of pilots and proofs of concept, businesses are now ready to scale and they’re betting big on agentic AI to do it. As a result, 2026 will be the year AI stops experimenting and starts executing, at a scale we haven’t yet seen. Nearly half (44%) of global business leaders expect major transformation from agentic AI in 2026, and they’re right to do so. These systems are starting to reliably handle repetitive, knowledge-based tasks at scale, freeing many up to focus on higher-impact, creative problem-solving

For consumers, the “wow effect” of AI will continue to grow (especially in video and image generation) as tools become more fluent, expressive, and embedded in daily life. Beyond the spectacle though, the real transformation will happen inside organizations.

At the same time, the business side of AI will mature. Vendors will stabilize, monetization models will evolve from usage-based to outcome-driven, and productivity, not novelty, will become the new benchmark.

In short: 2026 won’t be about the promise of AI, it’ll be about the proof. And if you’re ready to explore the potential of agentic AI to transform workflows and empower knowledge workers, start exploring DeepL Agent. 

Get more insights from DeepL’s global business leader AI survey in our detailed press release, here: https://www.deepl.com/69_global_executives_predict_ai_agents