GenAI Impact Report 2026: Swiss companies stuck in the pilot trap

Where does the Swiss economy stand on its AI journey? adesso Switzerland explores this question in the GenAI Report 2026. To this end, 100 executives and 750 end consumers were surveyed. The results show that a majority of companies (53%) are already seeing a tangible contribution from generative AI to their revenue development. On the other hand, 17% see no measurable effect, and a further 5% are unable to quantify it. In other words, just over one in five companies is investing in GenAI without knowing the return, effectively flying blind.

Another major challenge is the transition of AI pilot projects into day-to-day operations: while 97% of the companies surveyed run such pilots, a majority (53%) bring only around a third of these projects into production. There is therefore a great deal of experimentation, but little real business value is being realised.

This clearly shows how different the AI maturity levels of Swiss companies are. The report distinguishes between four maturity stages: Starters, Experimenters, Adopters and Scalers. The key point is that each level of maturity requires a different focus. Those who, as experimenters, try to scale immediately will fail due to a lack of governance. Those who, as adopters, focus solely on technology without taking organisation and data into account will remain stuck in pilot projects.

“A clear majority is currently using AI to make processes more efficient. That’s a start, but not the end goal. Those who apply AI only to existing processes are missing the real potential: new business models, new revenue streams, new value creation. What matters is how the technology is used,” comments Michaela Gasser, CEO of adesso Schweiz AG.

The AI gap between executives and consumers is also striking: while 69% of decision-makers state that they use applications such as ChatGPT and Copilot on a daily basis, this figure is just 29% among end customers. Accordingly, the verdict on the use of AI in customer service is clear: a significant majority of 79% see no improvement.