Despite widespread investment in artificial intelligence, many organizations are still struggling to translate AI deployment into meaningful productivity gains, according to new research from Nitro, a provider of AI-powered PDF, eSign, and document automation solutions.

Nitro's 2026 State of AI in Document Workflows study surveyed more than 1,300 enterprise leaders—including 239 C-suite executives and 1,100 managers and directors across the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada—to assess how AI is being adopted within document-intensive business processes.

The findings reveal a disconnect between executive-level AI priorities and day-to-day operational reality. While 85% of executives say AI has already been deployed across some or all of their organizations, only 54% of managers consider AI a high organizational priority, and just over half report that AI has reached their own teams.

AI Adoption Has Increased, but Manual Work Persists

Although AI implementation is accelerating, manual document processes remain widespread. Among managers, 52% report that AI has been deployed across several or all departmental workflows. However, executives estimate that employees still spend more than six hours each week on manual document-related tasks, with 41% estimating between 11 and 15 hours weekly.

Traditional document workflows also remain common. According to the survey, 96% of organizations continue to rely on print-sign-scan processes for at least some business documents.

“Deploying AI may seem like the easy part in 2026,” says Cormac Whelan, CEO of Nitro. “Delivering time and cost savings securely at scale is the struggle. When 96% of companies still manage documents and workflows manually, their employees lose a day or more of productivity every week. It’s because most investment has been in general-purpose AI tools that aren’t built to handle the complex document processing, workflows, and work surfaces of today’s modern business environment.”

Nitro says its intelligent document automation platform is designed to embed document processing capabilities directly into AI agents, automated workflows, and enterprise applications, reducing repetitive manual work.

Standalone AI Tools Limit Business Value

The research also suggests many organizations have yet to integrate AI into end-to-end business processes.

Among managers and directors, 37% report using standalone AI tools—such as copying information between generative AI platforms (such as ChatGPT or Claude) and document applications—as their primary AI workflow. Only 12% report having achieved fully automated workflows in which multiple business processes are triggered automatically.

Document technology fragmentation remains another challenge. Nearly three-quarters (72%) of organizations use six or more document management tools, while 31% rely on 11 or more. As a result, consolidation is becoming a strategic priority. Ninety-five percent (95%) of executives say their organizations are either actively evaluating document platform consolidation or have included it in their 2026 technology roadmap. Among managers, 75% expect to evaluate consolidation efforts within the next year.

Executive and Manager Priorities Differ

The survey found differing perspectives between executive leadership and operational managers when evaluating document technology investments.

For C-suite executives, improved AI and automation capabilities rank as the leading reason to change document solution providers, followed by stronger integration with existing technology environments and enhanced security and compliance features.

Managers, however, place greater emphasis on cost, followed by security and AI capabilities, reflecting continued budget pressures at the operational level.

"For decades, this industry ran on the same rules with the same large and expensive incumbents. Today, AI provides the opportunity to rewrite these old ways,” Whelan says. “Modern platform approaches, APIs, and AI should be the catalyst executives need to incite change. Adding AI is not the sole answer; it should be part of a bigger strategic shift. To see lasting gains, organizations need automation and AI built into the workflows and systems people already use every day.”

Security Remains the Primary Barrier

Security and trust continue to be the biggest obstacles to broader AI adoption. Nearly half (49%) of executives and more than half (54%) of managers identify security concerns as the primary barrier to expanding AI use.

The findings also indicate that 55% of managers acknowledge employees are processing sensitive documents using consumer AI tools, while only 43% report having a clearly defined and enforced AI policy governing document processing.

Source: Nitro

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