2026 State of ITSM: What 800+ IT Professionals Say About AI, Automation, and the Year Ahead

The 2026 State of ITSM report highlights that IT organizations are shifting focus from simple AI adoption to the more difficult challenge of bridging the gap between AI activity and measurable business value. While AI improves efficiency in specific service desk tasks, it also introduces a significant "maintenance tax" that can increase overall workloads through the need for continuous monitoring and validation. To succeed, IT leaders must move beyond tracking simple activity metrics and instead prioritize outcome-based measurements that demonstrate true business impact.