Australian organisations report growing AI returns as AI moves from informing decisions to taking action

9 November 2026: Australian organisations are seeing AI returns that extend beyond productivity, with new research showing AI driven revenue gains as the technology takes a greater role in workflows and operations.

Deloitte’s latest State of AI in the Enterprise report is based on a survey of 3,500 leaders across 25 countries. It examines how organisations are creating value from AI and the factors shaping those returns, including work redesign, AI economics, governance and emerging capabilities such as agentic and physical AI.

The Australian findings show organisations reporting benefits across a broader range of business outcomes, alongside changes in how AI is used, governed and measured.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Revenue gains from AI are increasing. 27% of Australian organisations report revenue gains from AI, up from 20% in January. Revenue growth is also the most anticipated future benefit, selected by 66% of respondents.
• AI is increasingly taking action. 38% of Australian organisations allow AI to execute decisions or actions without human approval to a moderate degree, but none report doing so to a significant degree. 18% say accountability is unclear when an AI system produces a negative outcome.
• Organisations are redesigning work around AI. 39% of Australian respondents are redesigning several key processes around AI, while around half report only a minor change in decision-making authority.
• Physical AI adoption is expected to increase. 20% of Australian organisations report at least moderate use of physical AI today. Within two years, 24% expect extensive use across most operational areas, compared with 18% globally.
• AI cost visibility remains concentrated at the overall-spend level. 75% of Australian organisations track total AI inference and API spending, while 38% track token volumes and 25% track the cost per token or API call.

REVENUE IS JOINING PRODUCTIVITY

AI's contribution to Australian organisations is extending beyond efficiency.

75% of Australian respondents report efficiency or productivity benefits, up from 66%. Revenue is now appearing alongside those gains as a measurable outcome, and it is the benefit organisations most expect AI to deliver next.

“What we’re seeing now is a clearer picture of what drives that value. Organisations are measuring returns, becoming more disciplined about AI costs and strengthening the foundations around the technology, says Stu Scotis, Deloitte Global Agentic AI Leader.

“That gives Australian businesses a stronger basis for understanding what is working and where to invest.”

Organisations reporting revenue growth also tend to report benefits across a broader range of areas, pointing to value coming from wider change across the business rather than isolated efficiency gains.

Customers also feature strongly in expectations of future value. 69% of Australian respondents anticipate AI enabling new forms of interaction with customers, compared with 58% globally, while 28% expect it to help identify new products or services.

ADOPTION ACROSS THE BUSINESS

AI is operating at scale in some parts of Australian organisations and remains in pilot in others.

IT and cybersecurity is furthest ahead, with 62% of Australian organisations running AI at scale in that function, compared with 54% globally. Marketing, sales and customer service is the function most aligned to the global level, with 34% at scale compared with 38%.

Other functions remain more concentrated in experimentation. In strategy and operations, 69% are piloting or experimenting and 23% are at scale, compared with 38% at scale globally. In product development and research, 20% are at scale, compared with 33% globally.

The results show different parts of Australian organisations progressing at different rates as AI becomes more widely embedded in day-to-day operations.

FROM RECOMMENDATIONS TO ACTION

AI's role inside Australian organisations is also changing, with systems moving beyond informing decisions to taking action.

“More than a third of Australian organisations already allow AI to execute decisions or actions without human approval to at least a moderate degree, but one in five say accountability is unclear when AI produces a negative outcome,” says David Alonso, Deloitte National AI Market Lead.

“That tells us Australian organisations are moving beyond using AI simply to inform decisions, while keeping a strong focus on oversight. As AI takes on more responsibility, being clear about who can intervene and who ultimately owns the outcome will be critical to maintaining that confidence.”

The way work is organised is changing alongside the technology. Many organisations are redesigning key processes around AI, although for about half the effect on who makes decisions has so far been minor.

Looking ahead, 60% anticipate moderate changes to specific functions as a result of AI over the next 12 months, while 33% currently plan no changes to their organisational design, compared with 21% globally.

The expected impact on tasks is substantial. Within three years, 73% expect AI to handle the majority of tasks in routine knowledge work, while 62% expect the same across customer-facing service, support and sales roles.

The shift is also moving into physical operations. Australian use today sits below the global level, but expectations for the next two years are higher, with Australian organisations more likely to anticipate extensive use across most operational areas.

Together, the findings show AI taking a broader role across digital workflows and physical operations, alongside changes in work design, decision rights and accountability.

UNDERSTANDING THE AI BILL

Australian organisations expect their AI capability to continue growing, bringing greater focus to how that capability is funded, sourced and measured.

86% expect their organisation's overall AI capability to increase moderately or significantly over the next 12 months. Within that number, 28% expect a significant increase, compared with 21% globally.

AI investment is also expected to continue growing, with 46% anticipating an increase of between 6% and 19% in the next financial year.

Most organisations are drawing on external providers as part of that investment. 47% tend to buy more AI tools and applications than they build internally, while 38% use a blend of buying and building.

At the same time, visibility over AI costs varies. Most organisations track what they spend overall, but fewer track the individual units of AI consumption through measures such as token volumes and cost per token or API call.

Returns are similarly varied. 35% say existing AI investments have generated less measurable ROI than expected, compared with 19% globally, while 38% say returns have been about what they expected.

Taken together, the findings show organisations increasing capability and investment while developing a more detailed view of the economics and returns associated with AI.

GOVERNANCE, DATA AND SOVEREIGNTY

Australian organisations are also strengthening the governance and data practices around AI as its role expands.

75% provide employees with AI training and guidelines. 59% have updated data governance frameworks or introduced new data policies, compared with 53% globally, while 61% have improved data-quality practices, compared with 55% globally.

Data privacy and security remain a prominent issue, identified as high or very high issue by 62% of Australian respondents, while 50% identify governance capabilities and oversight.

“The issue is no longer just whether governance exists but whether governance matches the authority companies are giving AI. The findings show governance isn’t always keeping pace,” says Dr Elea Wurth, Deloitte Lead Partner for Trustworthy AI in Asia Pacific.

“Governance must become part of the company’s operating model rather than a review process added at the end.”

Where AI and its underlying infrastructure operate is also part of organisations' planning. 64% of Australian respondents rate sovereign AI and in-region compute requirements as moderately or very important to their AI strategy.

The findings show growing AI use being accompanied by greater attention to the data, governance, infrastructure and accountability surrounding it.

The State of AI in the Enterprise: Built Differently report is available here.