Forum3 AI-First Newsletter

As 2026 approaches, many of you are finalizing plans and preparing for what the coming year will demand.

To support that work, and ahead of our AI First 2026 Predictions Community Call, we’re sharing insights, mini-episodes, and practical tips to help you integrate AI into your 2026 plans.

This week, we’re highlighting:

McKinsey’s new report offers a clear snapshot of where companies stand with AI, from progress, gaps, and early indicators that will define 2026.

Here are the five insights we think are key:

Almost 90% of organizations now use AI in at least one function, but two-thirds are still stuck in experimentation or pilots. Real enterprise-wide transformation remains the exception, not the norm. The advantage goes to the few who push beyond pilots.

62% of companies are experimenting with AI agents, and 23% are scaling at least one agentic system. 2026 really will be the year of agentic systems.

The organizations seeing the most value from AI (the “high performers”) all share three traits:

High performers are 3× more likely to have fundamentally redesigned workflows around AI. You don’t get enterprise value by adding AI, you get it by rebuilding around it.

51% of organizations have experienced at least one negative AI-related consequence. High performers actually encounter more risks, because they’re pushing harder, but they also manage and mitigate more effectively. If you’re scaling, expect friction. What matters is building the muscle to handle it.

Adam & Andy will be dropping several short episodes to help leaders think about their approach to AI, including some controversial topics that might be coming up in the discussion. Two mini-episodes were released this week:

Most companies use AI for efficiency. AI First companies use it to rethink strategy, decision-making, and entire workflows, treating AI as an “alien intelligence,” not just a tool.

AI as a tool → efficiency, point solutions, incremental improvements
AI First → treating AI as an “alien intelligence” woven into every decision, workflow, and strategic process

This 7-minute episode anchors everything we believe about building an AI-first organization.

Building on Eric Schmidt’s NYT op-ed, Adam & Andy explore how AI should strengthen (not replace) decision-making by helping leaders synthesize massive inputs and make smarter, faster choices.

The past few weeks have brought a wave of major releases across every platform, from instant slide decks, sharper image generation, and faster reasoning. Together, they signal how rapidly AI is advancing in speed, quality, and visual creation.

NotebookLM Slides — Instant Decks
Google’s NotebookLM now auto-generates full slide decks and visual summaries from your notes—turning raw information into presentation-ready content in seconds.

Gemini 3 — Next-Level Reasoning
Google unveiled Gemini 3 with deeper reasoning, stronger long-context performance, and more agentic capabilities across Search, Workspace, and the Gemini ecosystem.

GPT-5.1 — Faster + Smarter
OpenAI rolls out a more adaptive, personalized model with upgraded long-context reasoning and major improvements to the agent workflows running behind the scenes.

CoPilot Upgrade — Sharper Images
Microsoft quietly boosted CoPilot’s image engine, now producing higher-resolution, more photo-realistic visuals inside Designer.

We’re excited to see you at our next AI First Community Call on December 16th at 9am PT. We’ll recap 2025, share the trends we’re seeing, and unveil our 2026 predictions.

Bring your questions and own predictions. The conversation is shaping up to be one of our best!