Enterprises must own AI decision loops to gain competitive edge, study says

The article argues that relying on a single model provider risks losing proprietary decision-making data to external vendors, whose incentives lie in generalizing inputs rather than preserving competitive advantage. Instead, enterprises should build a proprietary AI harness and decision loop while leveraging specialized agents for niche functions like sales, HR, or legal. A 2026 Deloitte survey found only 15% of organizations have scaled orchestrated, cross-functional multi-agent adoption, highlighting the early stage of this architectural shift. The winning strategy involves owning the core decision-making loop while partnering with external agents for specialized tasks.