Signal 56% design AI for business outcomes only, 40% for business and human outcomes

Summary

When organisations design how people work with AI, most still aim only at business results. Deloitte's 2026 survey finds that 56 percent of leaders design primarily for business outcomes such as lower cost or greater speed. A growing 40 percent, however, design for both business outcomes and human outcomes such as well-being. Deloitte argues that setting a clear strategic ambition covering both kinds of outcome is the foundation for good design. Walmart International's chief people officer, Michael Ehret, says the company shapes how staff work with AI around the outcomes it wants, treating it as a matter of behavioural change rather than technical training. Deloitte's suggested design principles include being outcome-driven, contextual, transparent, adaptive, human-centred and empowering.