Three-Quarters of AI's Economic Gains Are Being Captured by Just 20% of Companies

PwC (Apr 13, 2026) press release on its 2026 AI Performance Study surveys 1,217 senior executives (director level and above) across 25 sectors and multiple regions. Headline finding: 74% of AI economic value is captured by just 20% of organisations, with leaders treating AI as a catalyst for growth and business reinvention — particularly capturing convergence revenue opportunities — rather than only deploying productivity tools. Companies with the best AI-driven financial outcomes are nearly twice as likely as peers to use AI in advanced ways: executing multiple tasks within guardrails (1.8x) or operating in autonomous, self-optimising modes (1.9x); AI leaders also expand the number of decisions made without human intervention at almost three times the peer rate (2.8x). For SEA mid-market boards, the divide is widening fast.