How do mid-market companies turn scattered experiments into something the whole company can build on?

That’s the question this report sets out to answer.

The State of Artificial Intelligence in the Mid-Market is Kaufman Rossin’s first annual report on how mid-market companies are adopting, scaling, and creating value with artificial intelligence. Drawing on survey data from senior decision makers across industries, and in-depth executive interviews, this report offers a grounded look at where the mid-market stands and what it takes to move forward.

In December 2025, Kaufman Rossin partnered with NewtonX to survey 100 senior decision-makers – Owners, Founders, C-suite executives, and department heads – across U.S. mid-market companies ranging from $5 million to under $1 billion in annual revenue. Every respondent held direct authority over AI, automation, or data and analytics investments within their organization.

Inside you’ll find:

• Data and analysis on the four stages of AI maturity in the mid-market – from dabblers and testers, to builders and operators
• Mid-market companies’ top five GenAI use cases
• How businesses measure AI value
• A practical roadmap to scalable AI for mid-market companies

View report

94% of companies use GenAI but few have what it takes to scale.

The report reveals a substantial gap in mid-market AI strategy: while adoption is nearly universal, the infrastructure, governance, and organizational alignment needed to generate enterprise-wide results remain elusive for most companies.

The report’s key findings:

• 
  Generative AI adoption is near-universal among mid-market companies, but fragmented implementation creates new challenges.
  94 percent of mid-market companies are already using generative AI. However, adoption is happening in silos; different departments and even individual employees are making independent decisions about which tools to deploy. This decentralized approach is overwhelming executives and complicating enterprise-wide strategy.
• 
  The most common use cases today focus on accelerating knowledge work.
  As AI programs mature, agentic AI applications are on the horizon, signaling a shift toward more autonomous, task-driven implementations.
• 
  Most organizations have moved beyond experimentation, but scaling remains elusive.
  The report found that 83 percent of mid-market companies have progressed from early dabbling to conducting deliberate trials or embedding AI into core processes. Yet only 2 percent have operationalized AI at scale—a clear indication that foundational elements for enterprise-wide AI transformation are still missing for most organizations.
• 
  Three primary barriers are preventing companies from scaling AI programs.
  – AI skills gap: Access to qualified talent remains limited.
  – Cybersecurity concerns: Risk management considerations are slowing deployment.
  – Legacy systems integration: Connecting AI tools with existing infrastructure presents significant technical challenges.
• 
  ROI measurement remains a universal challenge.
  Among companies using AI, time savings are the most frequently cited benefit. However, quantifying the financial return on AI investments continues to challenge nearly all organizations.

  Despite ROI uncertainty, investment is accelerating. Most mid-market companies plan to increase AI spending, viewing generative AI as essential to future competitiveness. This reflects a strategic commitment to AI implementation even as measurement frameworks continue to evolve. These findings underscore a critical inflection point: mid-market leaders recognize AI’s transformative potential but face significant AI implementation challenges in moving from pilot programs to scaled operations.

The data insights show exactly where that gap lives – and what the companies closing it are doing differently.

The mid-market is at an exciting turning point.

The companies that thrive won’t necessarily be the ones moving fastest or those with the biggest budgets. They’re the ones with clarity about where they stand, have the discipline to invest in foundations alongside tools, and leaders willing to treat AI as an organizational transformation rather than a technology project.

The technology is ready. The question is whether your team is ready to make the changes needed to the operating model to exploit the opportunity.

AI Enablement Team

Kaufman Rossin’s AI Enablement team helps mid-market companies assess their AI readiness, define their strategy, and build the governance, training, and infrastructure needed to scale with confidence.

Whether you’re running your first pilots or preparing to scale across the organization, we’ll help you build a plan that fits where you are today and where you want to go.