McKinsey 2026 Survey: 32% of Organizations Stopped Buying Software Because AI Builds It Instead

My take: One in three organizations has already stopped buying external software because they can build it internally with AI coding tools. That is what McKinsey found in its 2026 survey of 1,719 participants across 97 countries. The "build vs. buy" calculus is shifting in concrete and measurable ways.

The same report shows an interesting gap: 80% of organizations report individual productivity gains, but only 37% see impact on their bottom line (EBIT). AI is making people more efficient; converting that efficiency into business results still takes strategy.

I see it every day: with the right tools, small teams can build solutions that used to require much larger software budgets.

If you are a business owner or manager, the practical question is: what internal processes could you build now with AI that you would have previously bought?