We synthesized 200+ public sources, vendor disclosures, and our own client engagements into a 30-page report on the state of AI in operations. Here's a preview of the five biggest findings before the full report drops.
We published the first version of State of AI Operations in early 2025. The 2026 edition is 30 pages, draws from 200+ public sources, our own data across 50+ TrainYourAgent installs, and structured input from a dozen vendor partners. The full report is available as a free PDF here. This post is a preview of the five biggest findings — the headlines that should change how you plan your AI operations spend in the back half of 2026. Finding 1: 62% of SMBs piloted AI in 2024-25, but only 19% reached production This is the headline number and it's gotten worse year over year on the pilot-to-production conversion rate.
Finding 1: 62% of SMBs piloted AI in 2024-25, but only 19% reached production This is the headline number and it's gotten worse year over year on the pilot-to-production conversion rate. In the 2025 edition we reported 24%. Three reasons rolled up from the survey data: More SMBs piloting in general — including a long tail of "tried-it-because-our-competitor-did" pilots that were never going to make it. The denominator inflated faster than the numerator. More vendor noise — the median SMB founder evaluated 5.2 vendors before picking one in 2025, up from 2.8 in 2024.
We synthesized 200+ public sources, vendor disclosures, and our own client engagements into a 30-page report on the state of AI in operations. Here's a preview of the five biggest findings before the full report drops. It is filed under AI Strategy because that is where operators looking for this problem actually start, and it is written from production work rather than from a content calendar.