AI To The Core: Spend on AI-Centric Products and Services to Exceed $300b by 2026 (Report)

My check-in this week with the AI world isn’t focused on its ever-expanding capabilities, but with the commitment that companies are making to AI-centric systems.

The International Data Corporation says worldwide spending on software, hardware, and services with a core AI component will reach $154 billion this year, up from $121 billion in 2022.

And with a compound annual growth rate of 27%, spending is expected to exceed $300 billion by 2026.

Sales and customer-service functions such as augmented agents, process recommendations, and program advisor systems are expected to be the leading AI-uses that see the biggest influx, but the IDC highlights just how broad overall spending could be in the next few years by pointing out that, of the 36 AI-use cases it identified, only one is forecast to have a CAGR of less than 24%.

Geographically, the United States is forecast to be the largest market, accounting for more than half of worldwide spending.

“Companies that are slow to adopt AI will be left behind — large and small,” said Mike Glennon, senior market research analyst at IDC. “AI is best used in these companies to augment human abilities, automate repetitive tasks, provide personalized recommendations, and make data-driven decisions with speed and accuracy.”