There is a significant gap between corporate AI investment and actual workflow integration. This is what the 2026 Language AI Report from the global research company DeepL, titled “Borderless Business: Transforming Translation in the Age of AI,” reveals.
Despite the global buzz surrounding artificial intelligence, the report indicates that 35% of businesses still rely on fully manual translation, while only 17% have deployed next-generation tools like LLMs or agentic AI.
Jarek Kutylowski, CEO and Founder of DeepL, emphasizes that while AI is ubiquitous, true productivity remains elusive because many core workflows are still designed around human-centric models rather than automated systems.
The research, which surveyed business leaders across the U.S., UK, France, Germany, and Japan, identifies global expansion as a primary driver for Language AI investment for one-third of respondents. Currently, translation impact is felt most strongly in sales and marketing, customer support, and legal and finance departments. As organizations face increasing pressure to demonstrate measurable ROI, 71% of leaders have labeled the transformation of workflows with AI a top priority for 2026.
