BCG identifies 7.5% of companies as “future-ready,” delivering 2.3x higher total shareholder return, 2.4x revenue growth, and 2.8x EBITDA growth versus less advanced peers; an additional 41% are scaling AI and outperforming less-prepared firms, bringing the total to 48.5% of the sample.

Looking ahead to 2030, firms expect a 10%–15% workforce reduction, mainly hitting coordination and middle-management, while AI-related roles are projected to triple, rising from 7% of the workforce in 2026 to 22% in 2030.

More than 80% of AI investment is being funded outside central IT budgets in large companies, signaling decentralized funding for AI initiatives.

In Portugal, governance and retraining challenges echo those in larger markets, though investment levels are smaller, according to BCG.

By 2030, 42% of companies expect autonomous decision-making by AI agents, yet only 5% currently have the full governance controls (oversight, security, auditing, cost control, and reversibility of AI actions) in place.

BCG projects AI agents could account for about 40% of AI-generated value by 2030.

Seventy percent of the most prepared and expanding firms are already retraining workers for AI-related roles.

BCG’s Applied AI Index 2026 shows corporate AI investment rising to 3.3% of revenue, up from 1.7% at end-2025, based on a survey of 1,330 executives and business leaders.