How AI is Reshaping the Enterprise

US enterprise AI spending is rapidly increasing, driven by growth in software, cloud, and IT services as companies move beyond experimentation and into full deployment, according to a research briefing published on April 27, 2026, by Oxford Economics.

The report forecasts that development and use of AI-based products will grow to over $1.75 trillion by 2030, representing 22% of total US enterprise tech spending, up from $230 billion currently. This growth positions AI as the primary driver of incremental enterprise tech spend.

IT Services Lead AI Investment

While AI investment is broad-based, IT services currently account for the largest share of spending, reaching roughly $85 billion in 2025. This figure surpasses combined spending on devices and telecommunications, indicating that the value enterprises are realizing from AI is centered on deployment, integration, and data infrastructure rather than hardware alone.

The sectors leading AI investment are those with high knowledge intensity. In 2025, finance, IT, and professional services each exceeded $40 billion in AI spending and demonstrated the highest levels of AI adoption relative to their overall tech budgets.

Long-Term Growth and Sectoral Shifts

Oxford Economics projects that by 2035, these leading sectors—finance, IT, and professional services—will allocate just over one-third of their tech spending to AI. This contrasts with sectors like construction and transport, which are expected to allocate less than one-fifth of their tech budgets to AI.

Annual growth rates in AI spending are expected to remain strong, exceeding 30% through 2028 as firms scale their AI initiatives from experimental projects to production deployments.

Broader Trends in Enterprise Tech

The rise of AI is reshaping the overall composition of enterprise tech spending in the US. The Oxford Economics report highlights a broader trend of increasing investment in technologies that support AI implementation, including cloud computing and advanced data analytics platforms.

This shift in spending reflects a growing recognition among businesses that AI is not merely a technological upgrade but a fundamental transformation of how they operate and compete. Companies are increasingly focused on leveraging AI to improve efficiency, enhance customer experiences, and develop new products and services.

The findings align with broader industry observations regarding the increasing importance of agentic AI, physical AI, and sovereign AI in driving enterprise innovation, as reported by the World Economic Forum in January 2026. These AI systems are rewriting the rules of enterprise innovation by enabling more autonomous, embedded, and secure AI applications.

OpenAI’s 2025 report on the state of enterprise AI also emphasizes the need for organizations to strategically plan their AI deployments to maximize effectiveness. The report is designed to help organizations plan how to deploy AI more effectively.

Forbes reported in January 2026 that artificial intelligence is personalizing consumer interactions, improving energy grid efficiency, enabling autonomous mobility, and promoting innovation across various industries.