BDO Canada’s AI Vision Report: Beyond pilots to an agentic future of work, says responsible scale depends on governance, workforce readiness, and clear business outcomes
Toronto, June 25, 2026 /CNW/ – As Canada looks to close the country’s AI adoption gap, a new study from BDO Canada finds that nearly half (46%) of Canadian business leaders are experimenting with AI without achieving meaningful ROI.
According to BDO Canada’s AI Vision Report: From Pilot to the Agentic Future of Work , only 18% are actively integrating AI into their workflows and operations. BDO says the findings point to a second phase of challenges for Canadian organizations: identifying readiness gaps that limit value and building the governance, workforce capabilities and operational discipline needed to scale AI responsibly. For business leaders, this is a move away from the number of pilots and focus on whether the efforts are improving decision-making, managing risk, and creating measurable value.
The AI Vision Report: From the Past of Pilots to the Future of Agentic Work explores how organizations can move beyond isolated AI pilots toward managed enterprise-wide adoption. As AI moves from standalone productivity tools to more integrated, multi-step workflows, we outline how leaders can connect their AI efforts to clear business outcomes, responsible decisions, and measurable value.
The report also found that 27% of Canadian business leaders believe AI will have minimal impact on their organizations over the next four years. The findings may indicate a visibility gap as AI is increasingly incorporated into enterprise software, workflows and decision support systems, BDO said.
“The next gap will not be between organizations that are using AI and those that are not using AI; it will be between organizations that are redesigning their work around AI and those that are funding disconnected pilots.As AI moves beyond the chat stage and into workflows, leaders will need to understand what problems they are solving and what problems they are solving. They need to be clear about who will be responsible for the results, what data can be used, whether that data is reliable enough to support the work, and how the value will be measured. “The don’ts are expanding,” says Bill Siros, BDO Canada’s national AI lead.
From implementation to responsible scale
BDO says organizations need to scale AI in ways that create measurable value, manage risk and help people adapt to new ways of working.
The findings come as companies begin preparing agent AI systems that can support multi-step work, coordinate information across platforms, and move teams to more integrated workflows.
As these capabilities become more commonplace, BDO says organizations need to treat AI as a change to their operating model, not just a technology implementation. Scaling safely and effectively requires clear governance, ownership, effective employee utilization, implementation planning, and measurement tied to business outcomes.
According to Gartner, one-third of enterprise software applications are expected to include agent AI capabilities by 2028, up from less than 1% in 2024. BDO says this shift will put significant pressure on organizations to build the foundations of responsible scale now, including governance, employee fluency, workflow integration, and measurement tied to business outcomes.
“This is one of the most significant changes our customers will face in this decade. Canada’s AI opportunity depends not just on adoption, but on adoption that is practical, measurable, and trustworthy. Our goal is that the same human-driven strategies we have built within our company will enable Canadian organizations to experiment and There are real opportunities for companies that have the right foundations in place, and we are investing in helping our clients seize them,” said Jeff Chapman, Managing Partner, Advisory, BDO. Canada.
Information from BDO’s own AI implementation efforts
BDO’s perspective is informed by its own AI adoption efforts across the nation’s enterprises, including the company’s Client Zero approach to responsibly test, learn, and scale AI within its own operations. Through investments in workforce enablement, managed experimentation, workflow integration, and responsible AI practices, BDO has developed practical lessons that benefit our work with clients.
Read BDO Canada’s AI Vision Report: Beyond the pilot and into the future of agent-powered work.
About the report
AI Vision Report: A BDO Canada report that explores how Canadian organizations can move from experimentation with AI to responsible enterprise-wide adoption, moving towards a future of agentic work through pilots. This report is based on a survey of 520 Canadian business leaders who are members of the Angus Reid Forum, commissioned by BDO Canada, and on BDO’s experience helping clients connect AI initiatives to business outcomes, governance, workforce readiness and measurable value.
About BDO
BDO helps businesses do more. We offer an integrated suite of accounting, assurance, tax and advisory services based on deep industry knowledge. With an understanding of domestic and global business needs, we work with our clients to help transform complex problems into compelling outcomes.
BDO Canada LLP, a Canadian limited liability partnership, is a member of BDO International Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, and forms part of the international BDO network of independent member firms.
BDO is the brand name for the BDO Network and each BDO member company.
About Angus Reid’s data
These findings are from a survey conducted by BDO Canada between March 31 and April 3, 2026 among a representative sample of n=520 online adult Canadians who are members of the Angus Reid Forum. The survey was conducted in English and French. For comparison purposes only, a probability sample of this size would have an error of ±4.30 percentage points 19 out of 20 times.
Source BDO Canada
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