🌟 Editor's Note
Welcome to the bi-weekly newsletter which focuses on the AI topics that leaders need to know about. In this AI age, it’s not the knowledge of AI tools that sets you apart, but how well they can be integrated in the context of your business.
This requires a focus on your people and helping them through the change above any AI product you can buy.

_{New Open AI Report - The State of Enterprise AI}

Across this year, we’ve seen claims of AI projects failing and some businesses struggling to get value out of AI transformations. Alongside the 800 million users of ChatGPT, more than 1 million businesses are paying OpenAI for enterprise versions. The latest report from OpenAI: ‘The State of Enterprise AI’ presents good evidence for progress that has been made in this past year

• Usage of structured workflows like Projects and Custom GPTs has grown 19×.

• ChatGPT Enterprise weekly messages are up roughly 8× year-over-year.

• Reasoning token consumption per organisation has expanded 320×, indicating deeper task complexity, not surface-level queries.

  75% of workers report AI has improved the speed or quality of their output. Average time savings are 40–60 minutes per day, with heavy users reporting 10+ hours/week gained. Gains are seen across functions: faster IT issue resolution, swifter campaigns in marketing, quicker engineering cycles, and even improved HR engagement. Growth is strong across sectors, particularly technology, healthcare, and manufacturing.

AI isn’t just helping people do the same tasks faster, it’s enabling tasks employees couldn’t previously perform. 75% of users report completing new kinds of work that were previously out of reach, including coding and problem solving outside traditional domains.

Lastly, whilst there are still concerns of widening gaps between employees who adopt and those who don’t (and even the super-users v light users), concerns of international disparity are slightly eased with the stat that international API enterprise customers grew 70%+ in the last six months, with countries like Japan leading outside the U.S.

^{Takeaways For Leaders}

The shift from occasional chat queries to structured project use, enterprise workflows, and cross-team collaboration signals that AI is not a tool but rapidly becoming an infrastructure layer for work. Adoption isn’t just about trying tools. Workers are moving into repeatable, integrated workflows that shape how teams collaborate and deliver outcomes. Leaders should stop asking if people use AI and start asking how consistently and for what business-critical processes. This is the transition from experimentation to operational dependency.

Productivity gains are real and measurable, but distributed unevenly. 

This isn’t theory: workers are saving real hours on real tasks. But the distribution of these benefits matters. Gains are more pronounced where workflows are already well-defined and knowledge work is dominant. Leaders must ask: Where are these gains concentrated in our organisation, and where are we still stuck at experimentation? Leaders also shouldn’t settle for surface stats; they should map where gains are happening, which tasks remain manual, and how value is being captured or lost.

OpenAI State of Enterprise AI Report

_{Workplace Survey Reveals Stark Gap Between Leaders and their Teams}

DHR Global, an executive search and leadership consulting firm, have released their 2026 Global Workforce Trends Report, which features some useful points of ponderance for leaders. The company operates in over 22 countries and has over 35 years in talent advisory and leadership development. The survey of 1,500 professionals was split across North America, Europe and Asia revealed insights on culture and workplace engagement, but the AI insights are of particular note.

• 39% of employees report noticeable productivity gains from AI tools over the past year.

• However, only 34% of employees say their organisation has communicated the implications of AI “very clearly.”

• Employees are asking for more clarity: 24% of employees rank having a clear plan for how AI will affect their job among the Top 3 changes they want this year.

• There is a significant experience gap by level. 69% of C-suite leaders think AI communication is clear but only 12% of entry-level employees agree.

• When left to choose how to build capabilities for the AI future, employees aren’t asking for AI or data literacy in development plans. They are asking for:

  • Domain expertise within their own specific domain (35%)

  • Cross-functional skills (29%)

  • Soft skills like communication and leadership (22%)

  • AI and data literacy (13%).

^{Takeaways For Leaders}

There’s a perception difference between leaders and their teams. Senior leaders are confident they are communicating AI strategy, but those in the early stages of their careers do not experience that clarity. This gap threatens alignment and may suppress adoption and psychological safety. Leaders should adopt multi-level communication plans and feedback loops tailored to job level.

Employees aren’t defaulting to AI skills first; they still value traditional professional capabilities. Upskilling strategies must balance domain expertise, human skills as well as AI literacy — especially since organisations lag in clear direction.

Employees are not just passive recipients of tools. They want clarity about roles, expectations, and paths for growth in an AI-enabled workplace. Leaders should publish AI roadmaps at team and organisational level, not just at the C-suite level.

DHR Global Report

Disney Announces Deal With OpenAI

OpenAI has announced that they are partnering with Disney to integrate enterprise-grade AI use across its organisation. In exchange for Disney’s $1bn investment in OpenAI, they will license 200 characters to Sora (OpenAI’s video generation app).

The partnership isn’t about AI replacing creativity, but about making AI safe enough to operate inside one of the world’s most IP-sensitive organisations. Disney’s core asset is trust in its brand and IP. Any AI use that risks leakage, hallucination, or brand dilution would be existential.

It’s worth noting that there are still points to be worked out in the deal - the announcement noted that the deal is ‘subject to the negotiation of definitive agreements, required corporate and board approvals and customary closing conditions’. The September Nvidia announcement of a planned investment of up to $100bn in OpenAI is still yet to be finalised.

^{Takeaways For Leaders}

When organisations like Disney adopt AI, it’s not because the technology is exciting. It’s because the operating model is now credible. This deal signals AI’s shift from experimentation to institutional infrastructure. This partnership signals that enterprise AI is now mature enough to be used inside the most risk-averse organisations, provided governance is strong.

🔥 In Case You Missed It…

Apple and Google Announce AI Glasses, Coming Next Year

Google’s first foray into digital glasses was not a success. After Google Glass flopped and their later effort, Project Iris, was discontinued, many people have been waiting to see when Google would offer something new in this area. After the announcement of tie-ups with Gentle Monster, Warby Parker and Samsung it now looks like there will be not one but two of their products entering the market. Firstly, AI glasses that use speakers, microphones and cameras to chat with Gemini and take photos (think Meta Ray-Bans). The next iteration will include an in lens display, that will show information privately like navigation or translation captions.

Apple have been slow both in new products in recent years, and in AI. Less is known about their products but the device is expected to be a hands-free way to navigate Siri, cameras, audio, and navigation. With the potential OpenAI screen free device hitting the market in H2 2026, this is set to be a hot space next year…

🏆 Tools, Podcasts, Products Or Toys We’re Playing With This Week

Did You Know? 

Till next time,

And The Rest Is Leadership