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Thomson Reuters Institute · June 2026

Future of Professionals Report 2026

Thomson Reuters Institute's Future of Professionals Report 2026 (June 2026; n=1,816, fielded Mar–Apr 2026) found that 6% of corporate clients say most or all providers deliver AI-enabled quality improvements (78% say it is essential).

Read the original report ↗Cite2 min read · Summary updated
AI meets expectations far more often where there is a named AI strategyPercent of professionals saying AI is meeting or exceeding expectations for creating value, 2026
Named AI strategy
66%
No AI strategy
22%
Source: Thomson Reuters Institute, Future of Professionals Report 2026, 2026, p. 15.

Key findings

  1. 01
    74% of professionals use AI tools several times a week; 44% rely on them multiple times a day.
  2. 02
    78% of corporate clients say AI-enabled quality improvements are very important or essential; just 6% say most providers deliver them.
  3. 03
    Among firms with named AI strategies, 35% say day-to-day practice does not match the stated direction.

By the numbers

6%of corporate clients say most or all providers deliver AI-enabled quality improvements (78% say it is essential)
66% vs 22%say AI is meeting or exceeding value expectations with a named AI strategy versus no strategy
34%of professionals use AI tools their organization hasn't sanctioned
Why AI strategies stall in day-to-day practicePercent of professionals whose AI strategy does not match day-to-day practice, citing each reason, 2026
Right tools or technology not yet in place
47%
People not yet equipped or trained
43%
Strategy not translated into operational priorities
32%
No shared understanding of the strategy
30%
Source: Thomson Reuters Institute, Future of Professionals Report 2026, 2026, p. 17.

What it means for you Draft

For executives at $10–100M companies

This is the clearest client-side signal in the set: buyers of professional services want AI to improve quality, and almost none feel they are getting it. For a services firm, showing clients specifically how AI makes our work better, not just cheaper, may be a real differentiator for now.

Limitations

High trust.Large multi-country sample with stated fieldwork; Thomson Reuters sells AI tools to these professions, so framing favors professional-grade AI.

About the publisher: Sells AI tools for legal, tax and accounting.

Cite the original

Thomson Reuters Institute. "Future of Professionals Report 2026." June 22, 2026. https://www.thomsonreuters.com/en/institute/reports/future-of-professionals-2026

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