AI Deployment: Most Companies Aren’t Using the AI Features They’re Buying

A new report from Banyan Software says that although software companies are shipping all sorts of products with AI features, customers frequently aren’t using them – but that those who do are reaping significant benefits. Here’s an excerpt from Banyan’s summary of the report’s findings:

– 51% of software operators see fewer than one in four customers actually use the AI they built. Deployment, not development, is the industry’s biggest AI challenge.

– 44% said their biggest regret was not starting sooner. But speed alone isn’t the differentiator. The operators pulling ahead moved fast and measured what worked.

– Funding doesn’t matter as much as you’d think. Bootstrapped companies and PE-backed companies are equally likely to progress (32% vs 33%). Execution rigor is the differentiator.

– AI leaders see four times the revenue impact (45% vs 9%).

– AI leaders are nearly 20 times more likely to report retention improvements (37% vs 2%).

– The winners aren’t drowning in tools. The most successful operators pick one or two platforms, assign a clear owner, measure customer activation, and build AI into customer workflows rather than keeping it internal.

The report is based on a 2026 survey of operators of business software companies. More than 260 responded with substantive answers, most of them founders or CEOs of vertical market software companies under $50M in revenue.